FORMER Melbourne Knight Daniel Piorkowski made a stunning debut for Melbourne Victory in round 12 of the A-League competition on Friday night.
The tall defender from Taylors Lakes was virtually impassable in his position at central defence in the Victory’s 0-0 draw with Newcastle at Olympic Park.
Piorkowski was called up to the senior team following the suspension of Geoffrey Claeys last week, and hardly put a foot wrong for the entire 90 minutes.
Sharp in the air as well as nimble at ground level, the 21-year-old was brilliant in curtailing the effect of dangerous Jets striker Ante Milicic.
Piorkowski was a member of the Melbourne Knights in the now defunct National Soccer League from 2001-04, before continuing with the Sunshine powerhouse in the Victorian Premier League this season.
But the Victory saw a promising future in the young defender, snapping him up early in the Football Federation Victoria season and adding him to its 19-man squad.
The A-League call-up, which came before Piorkowski has a chance to don the famous Knights colours, came as a surprise to the former under 20 international player, who had to recover from knee surgery last year.
While on representative duties for Australia in Dubai, Piorkowski ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and sat on the sidelines for 14 months.
But it seems the best is still to come for the defender, who could yet be one of the future stars of the A-League.
