It is with great sadness that we have to bring you the news of the passing of RLFANS administrator, reporter, moderator and all-round decent bloke Tony Braisby, known to all as TB, who passed away on the 19th September, at the tender age of 63, after a battle against cancer which finally proved too much.

The now ‘long defunct’ RLFANS Dictionary lists TB as ‘London-based Cas fan moderator closely and directly linked with Mintball, mostly harmless´ and those thirteen words tell you a lot about a man who was a rugby league fanatic, a thoughtful and level-headed contributor and colleague, a long-term partner and latterly husband to Amanda (Mintball), and above all a decent bloke, as you would expect of a flat cap wearing Yorkshireman, albeit on difficult missionary work in London.

Tony was an early member of RLFANS and one of its foremost moderators in the early days, who alongside Mintball took control of the Sin Bin and ruled it with a rod of iron while allowing open debate and ensuring that order was kept. Tony became a site admin in 2011 and played an active role in managing and contributing to the site, although his forum moderation took a back seat.

Until his retirement from his day job, Tony was a journalist initially with the Morning Star and latterly, since 1996 with UNISON, but his first love was always rugby league, his beloved Castleford Tigers and of course Great Britain and England on the national stage. He followed the sport avidly and was extremely knowledgeable, often providing the live scores service on the site, and providing match reports. He travelled north to attend games at Castleford whenever he could, and he will be missed on the terraces.

A lover of music, literature, the arts, travel, cinema, his cats, and good food, we will miss Tony for his friendship, help, dedication and humour.

Our deepest sympathies are with Amanda, Tony’s family, and all his friends.