Kiwi-NRL Spotlight: Rocco Berry Mana Check
The legend of Rocco Berry continues to bloom after he returned from injury and rolled out a strong performance against North Queensland Cowboys. Berry lined up against Valentine Holmes and like most New Zealand Warriors in this win, he was too good for his opponent.
Berry scored two tries against Cowboys and this takes him to four tries this season, which is already more than his three tries last season. This was an important performance from Berry as he played his part in losing Warriors footy before dipping out of the team due to injury. Like many of the best NZW players, Berry didn't play in the epic wins over Panthers and Dolphins so his mahi against Cowboys served as a lovely reminder of the Greytown geezer's mana.
In his fourth season of NRL footy, Berry is also in his fourth season tackling over 90% efficiency. Defending at centre is tricky though as making the right defensive decision is just as important as straight up tackling. Cowboys scored two tries and neither try impacted the result, but both tries came down Berry's edge and both tries serve to highlight how tricky it is to break down defensive lapses.
Berry was sloppy at marker for the Cowboys first try and was called out of the play by the referee. Then the Warriors right edge was left out-numbered and Berry couldn't do much to shut down the Cowboys attack (Braidon Burns is out on the sideline)...
Berry's effort can't be overlooked though. He is still a vacuum that sucks up any runner nearby, especially with classic tackles around the legs. To balance out the lapses, here are examples of Berry wrapping up Holmes and then scampering out of marker to make a similar tackle on Tom Dearden...
There is an increase in mahi for Berry this season. Berry is getting more touches of the footy and is also making more tackles. Getting more footy has resulted in Berry averaging more metres per game this season and there is a slight increase in his missed tackles which stems from making five more tackles per game. Add in less errors and more offloads, for a lovely development arc for Berry under coach Andrew Webster.
Receipts
2023: 9.93
2024: 11.36
Tackles
2023: 15.5
2024: 20.8
Missed Tackles
2023: 1.6
2024: 2.1
Errors
2023: 0.8
2024: 0.5
Offloads
2023: 0.2
2024: 0.5
Metres
2023: 75m
2024: 81m
Berry is also the leading Warrior from St Patrick's College Silverstream in Wellington. For a while Berry was the only lad from St Pat's at Mt Smart after NZW recruited him from 1st 15 rugby, now there are three lads in Under 21s and above from the Upper Hutt school. Maui Winitana-Patelesio has moved up from U19 SG Ball to U21 Jersey Flegg in recent weeks, where he joined Toby Crosby who has featured in U21s all season.
Winitana-Patelesio's journey includes rugby league as he combined both codes in Wellington. Like Berry, Crosby was a notable 1st 15 player at St Pat's but Crosby then progressed into premier rugby in Wellington before joining NZW. Berry was recruited straight out of school which is an indicator of his ability and after enduring a few niggly years while he was learning the game, Berry has gathered 42 games of NRL experience. Most importantly, Berry has made the right centre spot his under coach Webster and that consistency in his role should lead to more development.
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