| 2016 National Rugby League | |
|---|---|
| Duration | March 3 – October 2, 2016 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Premiers |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (1st title) |
| Minor premiers |  Melbourne Storm (2nd title) |
| Matches played | 201 |
| Points scored | 8388 |
| Average attendance | 16,063 |
| Attendance | 3,228,623 |
| Top points scorer |  Jarrod Croker (296) |
| Wooden spoon | Newcastle Knights (3rd spoon) |
| Dally M Medal | Cooper Cronk & Jason Taumalolo |
| Top try-scorer | Suliasi Vunivalu (22) |
← 2015 2017 → | |
The2016 NRL season was the 109th season of professionalrugby league in Australia and the 19th season run by theNational Rugby League. The season started inNew Zealand with the annualAuckland Nines, and was followed by theAll Stars Match, which was played atSuncorp Stadium in Brisbane,[1] and theWorld Club Series. The season concluded on October 2 with theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks winning their first ever premiership after 50 seasons, having entered the competition in 1967.[2] The season was also noteworthy as it was the first time that all three Queensland based teams made the finals.
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 10th consecutive year. The NRL's salary cap for the clubs' top 25 players was $A6.3M for 2016.[3]
The 2016 pre-season featured the third edition of theAuckland Nines competition, held over a weekend at Auckland'sEden Park in which theParramatta Eels defeated theNew Zealand Warriors in the final. TheAll Stars match was held on February 13 atSuncorp Stadium in Brisbane. The2016 World Club Series took place in England with theNRL premiersNorth Queensland Cowboys defeating theSuper League championsLeeds Rhinos in theWorld Club Challenge match.
TheParramatta Eels were faced with starting the season on -4 points due to salary cap indiscretions in 2015, however the NRL was satisfied with governance changes at the Eels and no points were deducted.[13]
However, on 3 May 2016, after further salary cap breaches were exposed by the NRL, CEO Todd Greenberg announced the preliminary penalties of the club being fined $1 million, deducted twelve competition points, stripped of its2016 Auckland Nines title[14] and they were barred from receiving any further competition points until they fell under the salary cap, which they were reported to have exceeded by $570,000. Five officials (chairmanSteve Sharp, deputy chairman Tom Issa, director Peter Serrao, chief executive John Boulous and football managerDaniel Anderson) were also suspended indefinitely. On 12 May the NRL reported that Parramatta had fallen back under the salary cap for 2016 and were able to play for competition points again for their next scheduled game.[15]
On 9 July, after over 2 months of club officials contesting the preliminary penalties, Parramatta were handed their punishment with the addition of their for/against points tally accumulated from rounds 1-9 being deducted.[16]
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane Broncos | PAR 13 | NZL 15 | PEN 1 | NQL 1* | GCT 8 | SGI 26 | NEW 53 | SOU 22 | CRO 2 | MAN 24 | NQL 1 | WTI 1 | NZL 18 | CAN 8 | X | CBY 26 | MEL 42 | X | SOU 20 | PEN 19 | SYD 16 | SGI 4 | PAR 22 | CBY 10 | MEL 10 | SYD 10 | GCT 16 | NQL 6* | ||
| Canberra Raiders | PEN 8 | SYD 1 | NEW 0* | GCT 4 | CBY 14 | PAR 30 | CRO 24 | WTI 54 | PEN 1 | SGI 4* | NZL 26 | CBY 12 | MAN 12 | BRI 8 | X | GCT 8 | NEW 4* | NQL 14 | X | NZL 4* | SOU 50 | CRO 16 | MEL 14 | PAR 10 | MAN 14 | WTI 42 | CRO 2 | PEN 10 | MEL 2 | |
| Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | MAN 22 | PEN 2 | PAR 14 | SOU 30 | CAN 14 | MEL 6 | NZL 4 | GCT 1* | PAR 8 | WTI 32 | SYD 12 | CAN 12 | CRO 2 | SGI 18 | X | BRI 26 | SYD 4 | WTI 10 | X | NQL 36 | SGI 3 | NEW 14 | MAN 4* | BRI 10 | NQL 8 | SOU 18 | PEN 16 | |||
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | NQL 6 | SGI 28 | MAN 10 | MEL 8 | WTI 8 | GCT 5 | CAN 24 | PEN 2 | BRI 2 | NEW 62 | MAN 8 | X | CBY 2 | NQL 3 | X | NZL 1* | PAR 10 | PEN 16 | SYD 12 | NEW 32 | GCT 0* | CAN 16 | SGI 14 | SOU 6 | SYD 25 | MEL 20 | CAN 2 | X | NQL 12 | MEL 2 |
| Gold Coast Titans | NEW 18 | MEL 18 | WTI 12 | CAN 4 | BRI 8 | CRO 5 | SGI 5 | CBY 1* | MEL 38 | SYD 20 | PEN 4 | X | SOU 1* | PAR 10 | MAN 20 | CAN 8 | NZL 9 | X | SGI 20 | PAR 20 | CRO 0* | NZL 10 | WTI 1 | NEW 20 | PEN 1 | NQL 16 | BRI 16 | |||
| Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | CBY 22 | WTI 14 | CRO 10 | SYD 2 | SOU 4 | NZL 16 | PAR 12 | NEW 16 | NQL 16 | BRI 24 | CRO 8 | X | CAN 12 | PEN 7 | GCT 20 | NQL 4 | SGI 30 | X | NZL 1* | SOU 8 | NEW 20 | PAR 1 | CBY 4* | MEL 20 | CAN 14 | PEN 30 | ||||
| Melbourne Storm | SGI 2 | GCT 18 | NZL 7 | CRO 8 | NEW 4 | CBY 6 | WTI 1* | NZL 42 | GCT 38 | NQL 1 | PAR 12 | X | PEN 18 | SYD 46 | SGI 10 | WTI 9 | BRI 42 | X | NEW 4 | SYD 16 | NQL 8 | SOU 1* | CAN 14 | MAN 20 | BRI 10 | CRO 20 | NQL 6 | X | CAN 2 | CRO 2 |
| Newcastle Knights | GCT 18 | SOU 42 | CAN 0* | NZL 22 | MEL 4 | WTI 2 | BRI 53 | MAN 16 | SYD 38 | CRO 62 | WTI 8 | PAR 2 | NQL 30 | NZL 36 | X | SGI 12 | CAN 4* | X | MEL 4 | CRO 32 | MAN 20 | CBY 14 | PEN 36 | GCT 20 | SOU 22 | SGI 2 | ||||
| New Zealand Warriors | WTI 8 | BRI 15 | MEL 7 | NEW 22 | SYD 4* | MAN 16 | CBY 4 | MEL 42 | SGI 16 | PEN 12 | CAN 26 | X | BRI 18 | NEW 36 | SYD 2 | CRO 1* | GCT 9 | X | MAN 1* | CAN 4* | PEN 4* | GCT 10 | SOU 19 | NQL 28 | WTI 12 | PAR 22 | ||||
| North Queensland Cowboys | CRO 6 | PAR 4 | SYD 40 | BRI 1* | SGI 36 | PEN 5 | SOU 26 | PAR 16 | MAN 16 | MEL 1 | BRI 1 | SGI 4 | NEW 30 | CRO 3 | X | MAN 4 | SOU 20 | CAN 14 | X | CBY 36 | MEL 8 | WTI 12 | SYD 12 | NZL 28 | CBY 8 | GCT 16 | MEL 6 | BRI 6* | CRO 12 | |
| Parramatta Eels | BRI 13 | NQL 4 | CBY 14 | WTI 8 | PEN 2 | CAN 30 | MAN 12 | NQL 16 | CBY 8 | SOU 2 | MEL 12 | NEW 2 | X | GCT 10 | SOU 18 | X | CRO 10 | SYD 4 | PEN 4 | GCT 20 | WTI 15 | MAN 1 | BRI 22 | CAN 10 | SGI 12 | NZL 22 | ||||
| Penrith Panthers | CAN 8 | CBY 2 | BRI 1 | SGI 2 | PAR 2 | NQL 5 | SYD 4 | CRO 2 | CAN 1 | NZL 12 | GCT 4 | X | MEL 18 | MAN 7 | X | SOU 2 | WTI 8 | CRO 16 | PAR 4 | BRI 19 | NZL 4* | SYD 20 | NEW 36 | WTI 30 | GCT 1 | MAN 30 | CBY 16 | CAN 10 | ||
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | SYD 32 | NEW 42 | SGI 2 | CBY 30 | MAN 4 | SYD 7 | NQL 26 | BRI 22 | WTI 8 | PAR 2 | SGI 10 | X | GCT 1* | WTI 16 | PAR 18 | PEN 2 | NQL 20 | X | BRI 20 | MAN 8 | CAN 50 | MEL 1* | NZL 19 | CRO 6 | NEW 22 | CBY 18 | ||||
| St. George Illawarra Dragons | MEL 2 | CRO 28 | SOU 2 | PEN 2 | NQL 36 | BRI 26 | GCT 5 | SYD 2 | NZL 16 | CAN 4* | SOU 10 | NQL 4 | X | CBY 18 | MEL 10 | NEW 12 | MAN 30 | X | GCT 20 | WTI 13 | CBY 3 | BRI 4 | CRO 14 | SYD 36 | PAR 12 | NEW 2 | ||||
| Sydney Roosters | SOU 32 | CAN 1 | NQL 40 | MAN 2 | NZL 4* | SOU 7 | PEN 4 | SGI 2 | NEW 38 | GCT 20 | CBY 12 | X | WTI 14 | MEL 46 | NZL 2 | X | CBY 4 | PAR 4 | CRO 12 | MEL 16 | BRI 16 | PEN 20 | NQL 12 | SGI 36 | CRO 25 | BRI 10 | ||||
| Wests Tigers | NZL 8 | MAN 14 | GCT 12 | PAR 8 | CRO 8 | NEW 2 | MEL 1* | CAN 54 | SOU 8 | CBY 32 | NEW 8 | BRI 1 | SYD 14 | SOU 16 | X | MEL 9 | PEN 8 | CBY 10 | X | SGI 13 | PAR 15 | NQL 12 | GCT 1 | PEN 30 | NZL 12 | CAN 42 | ||||
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | F1 | F2 | F3 | GF |
Bold – Opposition's Home game
X – Bye
* –Golden point game
Opponent for round listed above margin
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 563 | 302 | +261 | 42 |
| 2 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 688 | 456 | +232 | 39 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks(P) | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 580 | 404 | +176 | 39 |
| 4 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 584 | 355 | +229 | 34 |
| 5 |  Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 554 | 434 | +120 | 34 |
| 6 |  Penrith Panthers | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 563 | 463 | +100 | 32 |
| 7 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 506 | 448 | +58 | 32 |
| 8 |  Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 508 | 497 | +11 | 27 |
| 9 |  Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 499 | 607 | −108 | 26 |
| 10 |  New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 513 | 601 | −88 | 24 |
| 11 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 341 | 538 | −197 | 24 |
| 12 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 473 | 549 | −76 | 22 |
| 13 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 454 | 563 | −109 | 20 |
| 14 |  Parramatta Eels | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 298 | 324 | −26 | 181 |
| 15 |  Sydney Roosters | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 443 | 576 | −133 | 16 |
| 16 |  Newcastle Knights | 24 | 1 | 1 | 22 | 2 | 305 | 800 | −495 | 7 |
1Parramatta were deducted 12 competition points and their for/against tally accumulated between rounds 1-9 forgross long-term salary cap breaches.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 38 | 38 | 40 | 40 | 42 |
| 2 | Canberra | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 15 | 17 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 29 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 37 | 39 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland (P) | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 37 | 39 | 39 |
| 4 | North Queensland | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
| 5 | Brisbane | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 |
| 6 | Penrith | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 |
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 26 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| 8 | Gold Coast | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 27 |
| 9 | Wests | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 26 | 26 |
| 10 | New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| 11 | St. George Illawarra | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 24 |
| 12 | South Sydney | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 22 |
| 13 | Manly-Warringah | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 14 | Parramatta* | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| 15 | Sydney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 16 | 16 |
| 16 | Newcastle | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
A new format of extra time was introduced for the finals series where two additional 5-minute periods are played and if the scores are still tied afterwards, the next team to score wins.
The 2016 Finals series is notable as the first time three Queensland teams have all made the finals in one season.
Canberra also broke a long preliminary final drought reaching their first grand final qualifier in 19 years.[17]
| Home | Score | Away | Match Information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date and Time (Local) | Venue | Referees | Crowd | |||||
| QUALIFYING & ELIMINATION FINALS | ||||||||
| Brisbane Broncos | 44 – 28 | Gold Coast Titans | 9 September 2016, 8:00 pm | Suncorp Stadium | Gerard Sutton Gavin Badger | 43,170 | ||
| Canberra Raiders | 14 – 16 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 10 September 2016, 5:45 pm | GIO Stadium Canberra | Matt Cecchin Alan Shortall | 25,592 | ||
| Melbourne Storm | 16 – 10 | North Queensland Cowboys | 10 September 2016, 8:00 pm | AAMI Park | Ben Cummins Grant Atkins | 21,233 | ||
| Penrith Panthers | 28 – 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 11 September 2016, 4:15 pm | Allianz Stadium | Jared Maxwell Chris James | 22,631 | ||
| SEMI FINALS | ||||||||
| North Queensland Cowboys † | 26 – 20 | Brisbane Broncos | 16 September 2016, 8:05 pm | 1300SMILES Stadium | Matt Cecchin Alan Shortall | 23,804 | ||
| Canberra Raiders | 22 – 12 | Penrith Panthers | 17 September 2016, 7:50 pm | GIO Stadium Canberra | Ben Cummins Gerard Sutton | 21,498 | ||
| PRELIMINARY FINALS | ||||||||
| Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 32 – 20 | North Queensland Cowboys | 23 September 2016, 8:05 pm | Allianz Stadium | Ben Cummins Gerard Sutton | 36,717 | ||
| Melbourne Storm | 14 – 12 | Canberra Raiders | 24 September 2016, 7:55 pm | AAMI Park | Matt Cecchin Alan Shortall | 28,161 | ||
† Match decided in extra time.
| Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||||||
| 10 Sept,AAMI Park | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Melbourne | 16 | |||||||||||||||||
| 4 | North Queensland | 10 | 16 Sept,1300SMILES Stadium | ||||||||||||||||
| North Queensland | 26 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 Sept,Suncorp Stadium | Brisbane | 20 | 24 Sept,AAMI Park | ||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Brisbane | 44 | Melbourne | 14 | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | Gold Coast | 28 | Canberra | 12 | 2 Oct,ANZ Stadium | ||||||||||||||
| Melbourne | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11 Sept,Allianz Stadium | 23 Sept,Allianz Stadium | Cronulla-Sutherland | 14 | ||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Penrith | 28 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 32 | |||||||||||||||
| 7 | Canterbury-Bankstown | 12 | 17 Sept,GIO Stadium Canberra | North Queensland | 20 | ||||||||||||||
| Canberra | 22 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 Sept,GIO Stadium Canberra | Penrith | 12 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Canberra | 14 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 16 | |||||||||||||||||
Sunday, 2 October 7:35pm AEDT |
| Melbourne Storm | 12 – 14 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
|---|---|---|
| Tries: Jesse Bromwich (50')1 Will Chambers (64')1 Goals: Cameron Smith2/2 (51', 65') | 1st: 0 - 8 2nd: 12 - 6 | Tries: Ben Barba (15')1 Andrew Fifita (69')1 Goals: James Maloney3/3 (8' pen, 16', 71') |
The following statistics are at the conclusion of Round 26.
Top 5 point scorers
Top 5 try scorers
| Top 5 goal scorers
Top 5 tacklers
|
Source:[18]
| Coach | 2015 Club | 2016 Club |
|---|---|---|
| Trent Barrett |  Country | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
| Mal Meninga |  Queensland |  Australia |
| Nathan Brown | N/A | Newcastle Knights |
| Anthony Griffin | N/A | Penrith Panthers |
| Kevin Walters | N/A | Queensland |
Total and average home attendances:[19]
| Team | Games | Total | Average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brisbane | 12 | 404,306 | 33,692 |
| Melbourne | 12 | 216,944 | 18,079 |
| North Queensland | 12 | 200,582 | 16,715 |
| Wests Tigers | 12 | 184,674 | 15,390 |
| Canterbury | 12 | 182,419 | 15,202 |
| Cronulla | 12 | 174,941 | 14,578 |
| Newcastle | 12 | 173,484 | 14,457 |
| Manly | 12 | 173,171 | 14,431 |
| Souths | 12 | 171,973 | 14,331 |
| New Zealand | 12 | 171,620 | 14,302 |
| Parramatta | 12 | 167,144 | 13,929 |
| Gold Coast Titans | 12 | 165,671 | 13,806 |
| St George Illawarra | 12 | 163,588 | 13,632 |
| Penrith | 12 | 153,820 | 12,818 |
| Canberra | 12 | 146,195 | 12,183 |
| Sydney Roosters | 12 | 122,820 | 10,235 |
