Berry, a former All Black, will take the reins for the first time when the Hawks host Maitland at Passmore Oval on Saturday.

It will be a vastly different Hawks outfit from the one which overpowered Wanderers 36-7 in the 2019 grand final to claim an unprecedented fifth straight premiership.

"Winning five in a row is unheard of in most competitions," Berry said. "A lot of the more experienced players have gone to the Wildfires. Half the team will be making their first grade debut for the Hawks this week. We are a fairly inexperienced side but I'm pretty happy with what we have got. There will be no excuses.

"Making them better players is the key to it all. As long as we compete, play a good brand of rugby and everyone is on the same wave length, it will be a successful season.

"If you get too stressed about it, it flows on to the players. The players have expectations with the club being successful over the years.

"As long as we focus on improving what we are working on and play with a bit of heart and commitment, I will be happy."

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Two of the Hawks new players, fly-half Raniera Petersen and breakaway Ryan Hargood, have followed Berry from Greytown in New Zealand.

"Raniera, I coached him when he was young boy coming through," Berry said. "He is a good footballer, an all-rounder. He has a good head on his shoulders, he is not a big guy but is pretty committed.

"Ryan is a hooker/flanker. He has plenty of energy and knows the game."

Berry, a utility back, played Super Rugby for Wellington and played 11 times for the All Blacks, earning one Test cap against the Wallabies in 1986.

He also had a stint in South Africa at Transvaal and spent two years in Italy before turning to coaching.

The majority of his coaching has been in New Zealand, most recently in Wellington.

"In Wellington there were a lot big players across the competition. You play a style suited to the players you have got," he said. "I played in the backs. I don't see the point of players touching the ball once or twice in the game and not being involved. I try to play a 15-man game."

Hamilton had the bye in round one and Berry travelled to Marcellin Park to watch Maitland tough out a 22-13 victory over Singleton.

"I was pretty impressed," he said. "Maitland were well coached, well organised and definitely had plenty of energy. It will be a big challenge for us that is for sure."

He and wife moved to Newcastle to be closer to there children.

"We hadn't seen our two eldest children who live in Brisbane in 18 months because of COVID," Berry said.

Berry's youngest son, Rocco, is with the Auckland Warriors, who are based on the Central Coast.

"This opportunity came up, so we grabbed it," Berry said. "We visited here a couple of years ago and loved it. We said if I ever got an opportunity to coach here, we would jump at it."

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