Maurice "Mocky" Patrick Brereton is a New Zealand former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who represented

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in the 1970 and 1972 World Cups and one match in the 1975 World Championship Series.

Playing career

Brereton was originally from the West Coast. He was educated at Marist Brothers High School, Greymouth. and made his

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

debut in 1969 while playing for the Greymouth Marist club. Brereton then moved to Christchurch, joining the Marist-Western Suburbs club in the

Canterbury Rugby League Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby lea ...

competition in 1970. He was part of the 1970 and 1972 World Cup Squads. In 1975 he played one match in the World Championship Series but was not selected for the squad for the October finals. Instead he played for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

in the side that defeated

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

in the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

final. Brereton played in 24 tests and scored 25 tries in 50 matches for the Kiwis.New battle for league great
''The Star'', 11 October 2006 Brereton also represented the

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

, Southern Zone, New Zealand Marist and Rest of New Zealand. Brereton's 46 tries for

is a district record, as is his 156 tries for Marist-Western Suburbs.Coffey, John. ''Canterbury XIII'', Christchurch, 1987.''Lion Red Rugby League Annual 1993'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

, 1993. p.192

Later years

Brereton coached Marist-Western Suburbs in 1977 and was elected the club president of the Marist-Western Suburbs club in 1985.''1986 Lion Red Rugby League Annual'',

, 1986. p.133

Personal life

Brereton was a

Police detective A detective is an investigator, usually a member of a law enforcement agency. They often collect information to solve crimes by talking to witnesses and informants, collecting physical evidence, or searching records in databases. This leads th ...

from his playing days until his retirement in 1995, after 25 years in the force. In 1971 he was the New Zealand Police's "Sportsman of the Year". In 2006 it was announced he was suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

. He works as the publican at the Ashley Hotel.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brereton, Mocky Living people New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand national rugby league team players West Coast rugby league team players Canterbury rugby league team players New Zealand police officers People with Parkinson's disease Bartenders New Zealand rugby league administrators Marist-Western Suburbs players South Island rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches Marist (West Coast) players Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers Year of birth missing (living people) People educated at John Paul II High School, Greymouth