Tarrawanna stalwart Phil Porter (right), pictured here with Ross Emerton, died on Friday.
The Illawarra football fraternity is mourning the passing of longtime Tarrawanna stalwart Phil Porter, whose service to the club was so tireless he has a pavilion partly named in his honour.
Affectionately known as "The Egg", Porter served the club for more than 40 years until his death on Friday night. He was 58.
The larger-than-life character was a Tarrawanna junior in his younger days, but it was his exceptional contribution off the field that will define his legacy.
Porter held every position on the club's executive, including the roles of president, secretary and treasurer, since linking with Tarrawanna in the 1960s.
It was through these efforts that he became one of the club's first life members.
Perhaps his greatest achievement would have been working in consultation with a band of hard-working volunteers to haul the Blueys back from the lower leagues to the Illawarra's top flight at the turn of the century.
More recently, in 2007, Porter and fellow Blueys favourite son Ross Emerton had the club's pavilion named after them.
Porter helped the small-spending Tarrawanna of the 1990s evolve into perennial Illawarra Premier League title contenders with a ground that only last year won the right to host a finals fixture.
Porter's willingness to ensure the northern suburbs club continued to thrive with its Illawarra Premier League status had him as the driving force of upgrades to Tarrawanna Oval.
Several recent improvements to the complex, including the new amenities building, re-irrigation, pop-up sprinklers and a pair of new 50,000-litre water tanks, were a direct result of funding applications Porter submitted on the club's behalf.
Porter's funeral will be held at Northcliffe Chapel, 634 Northcliffe Drive at Kembla Grange, on Friday at 2.30pm.