Lewis Jackson was one of the stars of Caversham’s impressive season, in which the team won 23 of its 24 games this year.
But the 21-year-old is moving north in four weeks to pursue work opportunities.
The striker has secured a job at Fulton Hogan, enabling him to make use of the civil engineering diploma he earned at the Otago Polytechnic.
He follows his older brother, Tom, who plays for Team Wellington in the national league.
While the move may be seen as one of the city’s rising stars leaving to play in a bigger competition, Jackson had been keen to stay in Dunedin.
"I tried [for a job] in Dunedin originally but I didn’t get it, so Wellington was the next best option," Jackson, who has worked as a labourer for the past 10 months, said.
"I went for that and I got it.‘‘In terms of football, I’m not too sure what’s going to happen immediately, probably just have the summer off, at the moment."
The standard of the South’s club football competition has been questioned in recent weeks. Dominant Caversham went through the season untouched with 18 wins from 18 games. However, Jackson thought the remarkable result was more a product of his team’s own performances.
"It’s quite good," he said when asked about the competition.
"There’s a few weaker teams in there, but that always happens with any kind of competition.
"There are some good teams in the league. We just had a really good season I think. It’s not very often you win every game in the season."
The team went on to win the South Island title and made the quarterfinals of the Chatham Cup, where it was beaten by a "very good Waitakere FC team".
He put the success down to hard work throughout the year, along with a good "togetherness" and plenty of talent in the team.
He did, however, think there was a point at which top players had to leave the city.
"First of all, yeah, I think you can do it in Dunedin and play for Southern [United], and have a good season for Southern," he said.
"But to go further on with football, you do have to move away after that. You can give yourself a bit of a name down here."
He was able to crack the Southern United team last year, playing five games and scoring a goal in the national league.
"It’s a big step up, of course, playing the likes of Auckland City and Waitakere and all that.
"I felt like I did [make the step up] because I had four years in the youth team before I came into the senior team, which gave me that stepping stone into it.
"I think if I didn’t have that I would have struggled a lot more. The youth league is also a very competitive league with some good players in it."
Originally from Chester, England, Jackson moved to Dunedin when he was 8, after a family holiday three years before.
"My parents loved it [New Zealand] and they just thought there were a lot more opportunities here, so we moved as a family," he said.
Like many English boys, he picked up football at an early age.
"My Dad’s always liked football and my older brother got me playing when I was 2 years old, so I’ve always have a ball at my feet."
Since then, Jackson has represented Otago through the age-grades, while playing his club football for Mosgiel, Green Island, Northern and Caversham, where he spent the past three seasons.
With Otago Boys’ High School he went to two national school tournaments, finishing 17th and 23rd.
He had not returned to his homeland, but hoped to make the trip back in the next two years.
A Liverpool fan, he wanted to go to Anfield and see his team play.
For now he was remaining firmly grounded about his prospects in the sport.
"I’ll keep trying my best within football. Obviously, I’m quite realistic with it all, but I’ll try to get as high as possible.
"At this point in time, aiming for an ASB Premiership title would be very nice. That’s a realistic target, so that’s my main goal."
