[2][3] He played his early football for East Albury and in 1933 trained with Richmond, where his brothers Doug and Gordon were premiership players.
[5] He kicked three goals from full-forward on debut, against Carlton at Junction Oval, in round seven.
[5][6] The following round he played in St Kilda's loss to Collingwood at Victoria Park, then lost his place in the team when Bill Mohr returned from injury.
[5] He returned home in 1935 and began playing for Albury, which was followed by a stint with Kyneton in the Bendigo Football League.
[7][8] In 1937 he joined Northern Tasmanian Football Association side North Launceston, a club captain-coached by his brother Gordon.