The Late Captain Pierce with Pierce's father nearly impossible. Eventually Potter gets help from HQ in the person of Captain Pratt (Eldon Quick), who promises to fix the error, but the paperwork is voluminous and the protocol involved is time consuming. In the meantime Pierce, with no money or mail, will have to remain, in Pratt's words, an "unperson." In a fit of anger, Hawkeye decides to accept his fate and desert as a suppositious cadaver; despite Digger's protest that he can't take passengers, Hawkeye climbs on board Digger's cadaver bus and prepares to leave saying, "I'm not a passenger, I'm cargo.". As a
Greg Pierce selectors were then thinking about the upcoming year end Kangaroo Tour. Pierce was back as vice-captain in the third Test of that 1978 series against New Zealand and was also announced as vice-captain for the 1978 Kangaroo tour. He appeared in four matches before a knee injury cut short his tour and prevented any further Test appearances. Pierce followed Tommy Bishop as coach of the Sharks in 1981. They made the semi-finals that year but finished eighth in 1982 and Pierce left the club. He coached junior football on the Central Coast, New South Wales for a time, including coaching