Nick Yakich, the son of a Croatian immigrant who stowed away on a ship bound for Perth in the 1920s, moved to Mossman (Qld) in the late 1940s.
From there he moved to Sydney where he attended Marist Brothers North Shore (Mosman) with future rugby league star winger Ken Irvine.
Yakich was also unlucky not to play more than three games for New South Wales (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.
[citation needed] Yakich's rugby league career came to a premature end in 1966 when he suffered a major knee injury playing against Souths which required surgery.
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.