The 27-year-old has been versatile throughout his career, whether as a schoolboy at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, at Blackburn Rovers in England, in New Zealand’s old national league, where he played for Auckland City, Waitākere United, and Eastern Suburbs, or at the Phoenix.
But it was only during the 2017-18 national league season, when he linked up with his old school coach – former All Whites centre back Danny Hay, now the national team coach – at Suburbs, that he first began to play week-in, week-out in the centre of defence, having predominantly been a midfielder – and sometimes a forward – beforehand.