PASSION for playing football with his mates has opened doors for promising Nelson Bay rugby fullback Liam Piatraszek.
The 18 year old rookie from Salamander Bay will step up a class when he runs out for the West Harbour Pirates this season in the Sydney Rugby Shute Shield Under 20 Colts competition.
Young gun Liam has linked with the Concord-based club after a breakout season in the Hunter Junior Rugby series last year with the Nelson Bay Gropers Under 18s.
The Tomaree High School graduate made his rugby debut in 2025 with the junior Gropers and proved a sensation in the number 15 jumper during a ten game stint.
It has been a rapid rise for the teenage prospect who also shone during the club’s end-of-season tour of Vanuatu last November.
Liam showed loads of potential as a hooker/half back in the Hunter Junior League with the Nelson Bay Marlins and Raymond Terrace Roosters over the past decade before joining the Northern Hawks Under 18s squad at the beginning of last season.
But a mid-season switch to rugby proved a turning point for the disenchanted youngster who was identified as a player with “immeasurable talent” by Sydney talent scouts.
The spring-heeled Piatraszek proved an instant hit in the rugby code and caught the eye with dashing performances at fullback to spearhead the Gropers’ Under 18s finals charge.
Liam’s purple form patch inspired team mates and underlined his raw potential which earned him the Most Consistent Player Award at the club’s Juniors Presentation Night.
The boom back fielded offers from West Harbour, Randwick and Warringah clubs but opted to make his Sydney debut with the Pirates Colts.
An excited Liam told News Of The Area that his decision to move to Sydney and play in the prestigious Shute Shield Colts competition was a “wonderful opportunity.”
“I still have to pinch myself that I’ll be playing top level Colts this season against some of the best young players in NSW.”
Not bad for a fresh-faced rookie who was introduced to rugby ten months ago in the Summer Sevens format.
“My good mates play with Nelson Bay and invited me to come along and play Sevens Rugby during the pre-season.
“I really enjoyed the rugby experience and the fact that I could play alongside my best friends was definitely enticing,” he explained.
Liam began the 2025 season with the Hawks Under 18s in the Newcastle Rugby League competition but by the halfway mark was missing his mates and the chance to scratch his “rugby itch.”
Nelson Bay Gropers stalwart Ray Milton, a former West Harbour player, recommended young Liam to his former club.
A versatile athlete, Liam is also an accomplished lawn bowler and has followed in the footsteps of his father Jason who won a State Pennant title with Soldiers Point Bowling Club.
At the age of 17, he was part of a strong Soldiers Point team that reached the quarter finals of the State Junior Fours Championships held at Warilla Bowling Club in 2024.
By Chris KARAS
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