Further defeats followed for the Hauhau, thanks to the intervention of the militia, but Ropata also played key roles in the fighting; He staged a successful ambush of Hauhau forces in late July and, equipped with modern weapons, later carried out campaigns alongside Henare Potae, another "rangatira" of Ngāti Porou, towards Tokomaru Bay and Tolaga Bay, seizing Hauhau "pā". By this time, he had established himself as a respected warrior and "rangatira" among Ngāti Porou. He was also regarded as ruthless: according to an account written in 1879 by Walter Gudgeon, at one point Ropata found some men from his own "hapū", Te Aowera, among a group of Hauhau prisoners and he personally shot each one. Monty Soutar, a Ngāti Porou historian, disputes this, writing in 2000 that no evidence in contemporary records could be found to support this action occurred.