That man is 58-year-old Paul Harrod, who first joined the club in 1992 when Peter French was in charge.

He then captained coached the Berry Showground-based club for the next four seasons - in which the played finals footy on numerous occasions.

"It all started with a phone call a couple of weeks ago from Bob Hayburn, who asked if I'd be interested in helping the club out," Harrod said.

"I really enjoyed my time playing at Berry, and after convincing the wife, I agreed to jump on board."

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One of the main aspects that appealed to Harrod was helping rebuild the family club that he remembers from the 1990s.

"Ray Strong was president when I first came down in the early nineties," he said.

"From the moment you walked in the door, to the moment you left, everyone made you feel extremely welcome - the harmony among everyone was fantastic.

"I mentioned this to all the players at training recently and how they have an opportunity to rebuild this club with their very own hands.

"I also reminded them, if you're winning games of footy, your beer bill will be a lot less expensive, as every man in town will want to buy you a drink and talk about the game.

"However, if you're losing, you're paying for your own beers and the only people who are telling them they are playing well in their parents.

"Berry is one of the best clubs I've been at because when you're going well, the whole town is behind you."

Harrod started his association with Group Seven Rugby League in 1983 with Kiama, before moving onto Warilla-Lake South, where he was the first grade captain/coach in 1991 when the club was premiers in all three men's grades.

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After his stint with the Gorillas and then Magpies, Harrod moved onto Dapto with Kevin Hastings in 1997 before returning to coach Warilla in the early 2000s - which proved to be his last association with the competition until now.

"Having been out of touch with the competition the past few years, I've recently gone back and looked over footage of the Magpies from last season," he said.

"More often than not, Berry would score enough points to win but would let way too many in.

"My philosophy is if you can manage 18 points, you give yourself a shot at winning, as long as you get your defensively line right - which comes back down to fitness and how much you want it.

"With the help of fitness trainer Warrick Moteby (a former CrossFit gym owner), I know the boys will have the ability to get fit enough this season.

"So the onus is back on the boys about how much they are committed to achieving success."

While the club is yet to make any new signings, they are confident in their homegrown talent.

"Obviously the players that Jayson Smyth brought down last year are gone but we are happy with the group we have so far, especially with the club continuing to produce such strong juniors," Harrod, who's been working with Allan Bolly in helping bring back some of the club's past juniors to the club, said.

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"In my eyes, hard work makes up for lack of talent anyway.

"Take that Warilla side I had in 1991 for example - they ran second last the year before we won the competition with a completely homegrown side, bar our hooker.

"As such, I'm not going to try and overcomplicate things and play a simple, disciplined brand of footy.

"If the boys believe in themselves then anything is possible.

"Winning, just like losing, is contagious and if we can snag a couple of wins early, it will set us on the right track for a strong season.

"And in the same breath, once you start accepting losing and aren't shattered after a defeat, you're cactus.

"We will be taking each week as it comes, looking to improve each time we run onto the park and if we do that, I'm sure the club will start making strides to get back where it belongs."

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