"YOU would not find a man anywhere else on this earth with a heart bigger than Tony's."
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They were the words of long-time friend Kevin Forde, who is among the many mourning the loss of country rugby league stalwart Tony Young, who lost his battle with prostate cancer on Monday at the age of 85.
He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Mitzie, as well as their five children Kathy, Tanya, Robert, James and Scott and grandchildren, and his battle with the illness prompted the family to remind all men to have regular check-ups.
The loss of Tony, described as "a gentleman of the game and life", has left a hole in the hearts of not only those in the Young and Murringo areas where he lived, but all of the south-west NSW sporting community, in which he had been heavily involved for the past 70 years.
Born at Scone, NSW, on September 24, 1930, Tony was placed in St Anthony's Orphanage in Waitara, Sydney at only two days old. He remained there for seven years before being transferred to an orphanage at Orange.
At age 11, Tony moved to Glenton Villa farm at Murringo, and after attending school in the village for three years began working full-time on the property.
Tony's sporting career mainly involved playing and refereeing rugby league.
He played for Murringo, Young Electric Lights, Bendick Murrell and Boorowa.
Another close friend of Tony's, Peter Parker, laughed as he recalled a story once told to him by the "little man with a big heart".
"Tony was involved in what was believed to be one of the biggest scandals in Young's rugby league history - much bigger than today's' drug taking, salary caps or off-field behaviour," Peter said.
"Tony was about to be appointed captain of the under-18s when the bloke he was replacing, Garry McLachlan, told the coach Tony shouldn't have been playing in the under-18s, in fact his real age at the time was 25.
"I can't understand, after Tony playing eight years of under-18s, that no-one thought it a little strange to check his age. Obviously he was too valuable a player to lose."
Tony's refereeing career began in 1957 when working at school carnivals, as well as occasionally running the line for Group Nine.
He refereed on the Sydney Cricket Ground, Canberra, Broken Hill everywhere in between, and performed every executive position for the Country Rugby League Referees Association (CRLRA) during his time.
This resulted in more life memberships to various bodies than you can count on two hands.
These include Group Nine Referees, Group Nine Rugby League, Country Rugby League Refereeing Association (CRLRA), Riverina Referees, Riverina Schoolboys' Football Carnival, Boorowa Junior Rugby League Club, Group Nine Junior Rugby League, Young and District Junior Rugby League, Woodbridge Cup Rugby League, Young Junior Rugby League Club, Group 12 Referees, Woodbridge Cup Referees and the Australian Rugby League Referees' Association.
As a member, patron and friend of the CRLRA Tony has coached and mentored thousands of young referees.
In a statement on the association's Facebook page, former leading CRL representative referee Bill Foran referred to him as "a gentleman of the game and life".
"No one as a referee deserved to be called 'sir' by everyone associated with rugby league more than Tony," the statement reads.
The CRL and the game of rugby league will be poorer from the loss of our beloved friend and we pass on our sincerest condolences to Tony's lovely wife Mitzie and his devoted family."
A funeral service for Tony Young was held in Young yesterday and he was laid to rest at Murringo Cemetery.