He made just four senior appearances in 1967 but didn't miss a game in 1968, playing all 20 home and away fixtures and three finals.
He had missed a lot of football in 1969 due to a serious knee injury and was unable to recapture the form he showed in 1968.
[2] After playing briefly for the Footscray reserves in 1971, Ellis ended the year with WANFL club Perth.
In 1978 was appointed captain-coach of Dandenong in the Victorian Football Association and steered them to fourth position on the ladder.
[4] He joined Watsonia in 1979 and won that year's Frank Smith Medal, as the "Best and Fairest" player in the Diamond Valley Football League.