Cooper looking forward to “different challenge” in first season with Berry-Shoalhaven Heads
Tallon Smith
The Berry-Shoalhaven Heads Magpies will have greater strike power out wide in 2026 after securing the services of Wagga Kangaroos centre Ned Cooper over the off-season.
A two-time Group 9 grand finalist, Cooper joins the club at a time where the Magpies are looking to build on last season’s drought-breaking Under 18s triumph and consolidate their place back in the first grade competition after returning to the top grade in 2025.
Cooper said he is looking forward to the challenge of playing in Group 7 this season, and differences in the style of gameplay compared to his home competition in the Riverina.
“I’m looking forward [to] a different challenge and stepping up and becoming a bit more of a leader within the group and having a bit more responsibility within the side,” he said.
“I’ve heard it’s a little more open and expansive compared to Group 9, so outside backs hopefully get the ball a little bit more and hopefully it’s a little bit more open and free-flowing.
“Group 9’s a very bash and barge type of league.”
After featuring in consecutive grand final losses with the Kangaroos in 2023 and 2024, Cooper was ruled out of a third shot at the title following an injury in June of last year.
The 23-year-old outside back said that he is still dealing with the lingering effects of the injury, but should finally be at 100 percent come round one on April 11.
“I broke my leg in round eight against Young, and I was trying to get back for the Grand Final, I had a time frame [of] about twelve weeks,” he said.
“I fractured my fibula and did my syndesmosis, but I kept having complications with it.
“It was still fractured about 10 weeks post-surgery, so I’m still currently recovering from it.
“I’m probably another couple of weeks from being fully fit, because I’ve just had some complications with the metalwork and things like that.”
The other major disappointment following the injury was being forced to sit out last year’s grand final, where the Wagga outfit lost a third-straight premiership decider.
“I knew it was going to be my last year for Kangaroos last season, so it was pretty devastating when I realised I couldn’t get back and play the grand final because I thought ‘this year was the year to do it’,” he said.
“To see the boys go down again in that third grand final in a row was heartbreaking.
“Not to be out there and supporting them killed me because I played at the club since I was six and that club is everything to me.”
The signing of Cooper is one of many recruitment coups for the Magpies in a busy off-season for the club, with the Berry-Shoalhaven Heads club welcoming Connor Ruse-Kent from Shellharbour, Jordan Xuereb from Jamberoo, and Illawarra League player Jake Simpson.
Magpies president Joe Rogers said that he is excited about the experience and firepower that Cooper will bring to the Magpies this season.
“He’s a really nice guy Ned, he’s coming off an ankle injury but he’s looking better and better each week,” Rogers said.
“It’s why we wanted him, we wanted a strike weapon in the outside backs and we wanted someone with experience and someone that’s won in the past, and Ned fits all those bills.
“He’s come to training and lifted the standard straight away, so [he’s] good on the field, but he seems to be a really nice and straight up guy off the field which we like just as much.
“Ever since we started talking to him, he’s been nothing but honest and a pleasure to deal with.”
Following the success of the under 18s team last season, Rogers said that the signings over the off-season complement the club’s long-term strategy of focusing on the development and retention of local juniors.
“We’ve got a massive focus this year and the next two, three, four, five years on bringing up our local juniors,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of good kids in SG Ball and the Dragons system, so our main focus this year is bringing them into a stable first grade environment, because we think potentially if we keep everyone together, we’re going to have a good local first grade side in a couple of years.”
As for the future of the club, Cooper agrees with Rogers’ vision, and is excited to play alongside some of the premiership players from last season’s lower grade triumph.
“I think Berry have had some tough seasons, but they’re building and they won a fair frew games last year, and they’ve got a really good junior base, and we’ll have a few of the boys that were in that grand final side playing for us in first grade,” he said.
“Hopefully we can develop them boys to become good quality first graders for us, and improve on the previous year’s results for Berry.”