In 1977 he moved south, joining Porirua City as a player-coach in 1976.[3] He led the team to the Wellington Rugby League grand final in his first year, however they lost to Randwick. That year he had scored 177 points in only 23 games for Porirua. He spent two seasons at Porirua before moving to the Upper Hutt Tigers where he won a premiership in 1979. In four seasons in the Wellington competition he scored 869 points. He also played in twenty four matches for Wellington, scoring 190 points, and in three games for Central Districts.[5]