Player Rocco Berry

[Riz]

Yeah no decision needs to be made now. I wouldn’t be in any rush to re-sign him come 1 November. We could re-sign him end of next year on the cheap (even the minimum possibly). An injury ravaged Berry as a fourth string center is still better than Morgan Harper.

Just see how next year plays out, we have some gun centers in our Flegg team (probably deepest position in that team in terms of talent) so a lot will depend on how they progress come end of next year, the likes of Kali, Vake, Putoko, Norris, Moimoi.

I don’t think we need to be looking externally for a Berry replacement. Pompey/Ali is a good pairing when Berry isn’t fit.

I'd be giving Kayliss Fatialofa some time in the centre's in cup, he's got all the attributes in my opinion to be very good there at NRL level. Otherwise I'm not sure how he fits into the longterm plan with our ritches of depth in the back row.

 

[Cces]

His old man had some injury plagued years too with only 8 games across 1987-1989. Had some reliable seasons either side of that though:

Martin Joseph Berry | New Zealand Rugby History

www.rugbyhistory.co.nz

 

[sup42]

Dude seriously needs to take up Yoga and Tai Chi.

He is wooden as a Kungfu Wooden man....needs to be more like water.

That shoulder injury was from hyper extension when his arm makes contact with the turf, like he gave himself a chicken wing by having his arm on a ball, face down, and a dude on top of him.

Get him into Yoga Warriors, or dance, whatever, build flexibility and flow. The brothers need to teach him the walk, slouched shoulders, swinging arms.

I like his build, but he runs and walks like he has stick up his arse.

 

[Bay39er]

.

That shoulder injury was from hyper extension when his arm makes contact with the turf, like he gave himself a chicken wing by having his arm on a ball, face down, and a dude on top of him.

I get it

We would rather he didn't dive on the loose ball to avoid injury and just let the Tiger player take possession

 

[Christchurch_Warrior]

Out until round 25

Casualty Ward

Check the Official NRL Casualty Ward, which players are injured, and who is expected to make their way back onto the field and in the game.

www.nrl.com

 

[Tookey 2.0]

Out until round 25

Casualty Ward

Check the Official NRL Casualty Ward, which players are injured, and who is expected to make their way back onto the field and in the game.

www.nrl.com

Sweet, 3 rounds to get up to speed before finals!

 

[Cces]

Elsewhere, on a post discussing DWZ's defense someone shared the opinion that DWZ's main issue was that he's been missing Berry. I replied that our right edge doesn't magically improve when Berry is there. The OP agreed, but another person flat out said it magically does & 2023 showed that, so I've crunched the numbers and am going to dump them here to reference in the future.

2023:
-Without Berry - 11 games, 8 against teams who played playoffs, 19.3 points conceded per game.
-With Berry - 16 games (15 alongside DWZ), 6 against playoff teams, 20 points per game. *In 2 of these games he went off before halftime, we won both of these & conceded just 14 total points across these 2 games*

2024:
- 12 games with Berry (11 alongside DWZ) at 21.1 points conceded per game *this includes 30 points conceded when he wasn't on the field*
- 12 games without Berry at 26.8 pg

2025:
- 13 games without Berry at 17.9 pg
- 6 games with Berry (only 2 games and combined 92 mins alongside DWZ) at 25.0 pg *32 combined points conceded after he went off injured*

2025 game by game tackle efficiency:
74% Storm
74% Knights
100% Cowboys
93% Souths (with DWZ who tackled at 78%)
75% Broncos
67% Tigers (with DWZ who tackled at 75%)

 

[CWC]

That shoulder injury was from hyper extension when his arm makes contact with the turf, like he gave himself a chicken wing by having his arm on a ball, face down, and a dude on top of him.

I..I don’t think anyone touched him when he popped his berry

 

[1995warriorsfan]

Warriors star Rocco Berry on horror run of injuries in NRL campaign​

By Michael Burgess
Senior Sports Journalist·NZ Herald

Rocco Berry has a simple goal for the rest of this NRL season – stay on the field.
The Warriors centre has endured an awful run with injuries in 2025, as his campaign has never really got going.

He has yet to complete back-to-back games – a remarkable statistic coming into round 25 this weekend – and has spent most of the year in rehabilitation mode.

Indeed, if there was an award for mental toughness in the NRL, Berry would be near the top of the list.

The 24-year-old had already had his fair share of physical setbacks since breaking on to the scene five years ago but this season has been his nadir, with a freakish run.

Last Saturday’s 32-18 win over the Titans was just his seventh NRL match this year, while he has only completed four matches.

Berry missed the opening three rounds of the season, rehabilitating from off-season shoulder surgery after an injury sustained against the Melbourne Storm in mid-June last year.

He was selected for the round four clash with the Wests Tigers, but was a late withdrawal after a hamstring strain in training.

He played in Melbourne two weeks later, where he picked up a one-game suspension.

He returned for the Anzac Day win over Newcastle in Christchurch but only lasted 52 minutes of the next game against the Cowboys, due to another hamstring injury.

After three weeks on the sideline, Berry came back for the round 13 clash with the Rabbitohs in Sydney but limped off after an hour with more hamstring trouble.

After missing two matches, the Masterton product returned to face the Broncos in late June before another calamity as he dislocated his shoulder in the following match against the Tigers, which meant foregoing another six matches before his return last Saturday.

“It’s been pretty frustrating,” Berry told the Herald. “But I had a big shoulder injury last year - pretty much the biggest one I’ve had. After I’ve had that, these ones, even though they’re still injuries and it’s frustrating, they are pretty minor compared to that one.”

Though Berry has tried to find the bright side, it has been a testing period.

“The frustrating ones were the hamstrings where it was the same one that was going and you start probably questioning if [you are] doing the right things. But I’ve stayed positive and I’ve got a good support crew around me and my teammates.

“With the shoulder injury [last year], it wasn’t really a set time to come back. So that was [hard], I’ve never had something like that.

“It was a nerve, so you don’t really know and it was up in the air. These ones this season you always have that set return [time] and you just build through. I enjoy training and working hard in rehab so those ones have been easy to handle.”

Berry immediately reminded fans of his value last Saturday.

He carried for 123 metres from 13 runs, while his kick chase pressure forced the turnover that led to the Warriors’ second try to Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.

He went close to his own try near halftime – after taking a bomb – and helped to solidify the right edge, notwithstanding a late miss for a Titan’s consolation try.

For the Warriors, it’s almost like having a new player, such has been the scarcity of his sightings until now.

Berry was relieved to get through the game, admitting he was “pretty gassed” in the first half, as the lack of match fitness took a toll.

There was a scare near the end - as Berry stayed down after a tackle, before getting attention from the doctor - but it was nothing serious.

“I was just pretty winded – trying to get my breath back,” said Berry.

“I was hit in the ribs and I lost my breath for a bit.”

Saturday’s match was Berry’s 50th NRL match, a hard-won milestone given he made his debut in April 2021.

“It’s pretty cool,” said Berry.

“It’s definitely something I’ll look back on and be proud of, after growing up being a Warriors fan as a Kiwi kid and dreaming of playing for them. So to get 50 games, it’s a decent amount, [though] obviously there are bigger milestones.”

The favourite memory of his short career so far is the home playoff win over Newcastle in 2023 – “one of the craziest atmospheres and a good performance too”.

He hopes there is more to come, with the Warriors on track for a top four finish.


But the main quest will be to avoid the physiotherapists and doctors and build some personal momentum, after a forgettable six months.

“I keep pretty positive,” said Berry.

“I’ve been healing well - each time I’ve come back I just haven’t been able to get consecutive games. I’m sure my luck will turn and hopefully I’ll play the rest of the season and get some good footy together.”

 

[CWC]

Was the popped shoulder the same side as the nerve injury?