With the departure of Clarke Dermody prior to the 2008 Air New Zealand Cup, King was approached by Southland and chose to transfer further south to Invercargill.

He continued his strong play for Southland in the 2009 Air New Zealand Cup as the squad reached their 2nd consecutive semi-final, and proved a monumental figure in their week 14 Ranfurly Shield win against his former Canterbury team.

[1] In the 2010 ITM Cup, King joined the rest of his teammates in producing a string of stellar performances during the Stags' extended defence of the Ranfurly Shield.

The following year he played in all 13 matches, mainly off the bench, serving as backup to the All Blacks props Greg Somerville and Dave Hewitt who were the regular starters for the club.

He made more of an impression as the Highlanders moved into the Super 14 era in 2006 as he became a regular reserve prop, once again behind two All Blacks in Carl Hayman and Clarke Dermody.