Nick Yakich (18 January 1940 – 28 May 2019) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer for the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...

in the

New South Wales Rugby League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

competition. His position of choice was on the .

Early life

Nick Yakich, the son of a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

n immigrant who stowed away on a ship bound for

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in the 1920s, moved to Mossman (Qld) in the late 1940s. From there he moved to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

where he attended Marist Brothers North Shore (Mosman) with future rugby league star winger Ken Irvine. He then attended Newcastle Teachers College with his brother

Fred Fred or FRED may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Fred ...

(also a future Sea Eagle). After graduating he was posted to Harbord Primary School on

Northern Beaches The Northern Beaches is a region within Northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, near the Pacific coast. This area extends south to the entrance of Port Jackson (Sydney Harbour), west to Middle Harbour and north to the ...

, right in the heart of the Sea Eagles area and trialled with Manly at the instigation of cricket team mate, and Manly junior, Frank Stanton. He later taught PE at Pittwater High School at Mona Vale.

Playing career

Yakich was graded with the Sea Eagles as a winger in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, immediately impressing with his speed and try scoring ability in open play. He went on to play in a total of 74 games with the club between 1960 and 1966, scoring 52 tries. His best season in the NSWRFL was

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

when he crossed for 16 tries, only two behind the season's leading try scorer, St. George's test

Reg Gasnier Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australia in a then record 36 Tests and three World Cup g ...

. During his time with Manly, Yakich was considered one of the fastest players in rugby league behind only

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

's Ken Irvine and South Sydney's 1962 Commonwealth Games 100 yards Bronze Medallist, Michael Cleary. Yakich was also unlucky not to play more than three games for

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

(NSW) during his career, regularly competing with test wingers Irvine, Cleary, Johnny King and Eddie Lumsden (both from the record setting St. George Dragons of the 1960s) for a place in the side. Yakich played all of his three games for NSW in 1965, scoring a try on each occasion. Following the interstate series (won 4-0 by NSW), he was called up to the Australian squad to tour New Zealand, but was unable to displace Irvine and Cleary from the test team and only played in minor games on tour, though he was the squad's leading try scorer on tour with 6 tries. Yakich's rugby league career came to a premature end in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

when he suffered a major knee injury playing against Souths which required surgery. He retired for good in 1967 after suffering a shoulder injury whilst captain-coach of

Werris Creek Werris Creek is a small town in New South Wales, Australia, near Tamworth, in Liverpool Plains Shire. It is north of Quirindi and is at the junction of the Main North railway line to Armidale and Moree. At the 2011 census, Werris Creek had a ...

in northern

Beach Sprinting

Yakich was a sprinting protege' of former Manly, NSW and Australian winger Johnny Bliss, who had also won a record 12 Australian Beach Sprint championships. Yakich would go on to win 5 Australian championships with the North Narrabeen Surf Club before his knee injury suffered in 1966 forced his retirement.

Career playing statistics

Point scoring summary

Matches played

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yakich, Nick 1940 births 2019 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian people of Croatian descent Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league players from Innisfail, Queensland Rugby league wingers 20th-century Australian sportsmen