[6] In 1932, during the Great Depression, Diggins moved to Victoria to play for the South Melbourne Football Club in the VFL.
[4] At the start of 1937, dissatisfied with his treatment at South Melbourne, Diggins sought and was refused a clearance to the Carlton Football Club.
[10] As the season began, Diggins stood out of football, declining to train or play for South Melbourne; he explored options to return to Western Australia and serve as coach – either playing-coach with a clearance, or non-playing coach without – for several WANFL sides, before returning to Victoria and again unsuccessfully seeking clearance to Carlton.
His leadership and coaching style, and in particular, new and innovative training programs he set up for the players, were seen as critical to the club's 1938 success; and he became a highly regarded tactician, with several of his timely positional moves seen as pivotal to Carlton's upset win in the 1938 grand final.
[14] Due to that injury, and number of illnesses, he did not play for Carlton again that year, on medical advice;[15] however he did continue as non-playing coach until the end of the 1940 season (round 18: 31 August 1940).
[23] and, in the following season (1948), aged 41, he made another comeback, in which "he played inspiring football and was largely responsible for his side's two-goal win".