Daniel York on mateship and sticking to his lane

It is unsurprising, then, that the 24-year-old's life largely revolves around a core group of mates.

They include the three Lukes - Wilson, Buckley and McVey, who were with York throughout the entirety of high school at Farrer, and now play Premier League with him at South United.

"We get to play with each other every weekend, which is awesome," York said, adding: "We've been playing with each other for a long time ... So we all know how each other plays and how we all work together."

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The foursome will be in action again for Souths when the 10th-placed side meets the third-placed Mountain Goats at Riverside 4A on Saturday afternoon.

The Souths lineup will include one of York's other longstanding great mates, Lachlan Smith

When the Leader caught up with York and Smith in 2017, they were 18 years old, in year 12 and the Premier League's youngest referees. They both still ref, but restrict the officiating to Friday night's third-grade competition.

York said:

For the past two years, York has worked in sales at TNA Bus Hire. He "loves" the job.

"And I love playing football, and both are very supportive of each other - they counteract each other very well. So it's a very healthy balance at the moment."

Losing contact with his friends and losing the mobility of his youth is what scares the goalie most about getting older. "But I guess that's part of life," he said.

Currently, however, he doesn't believe life has dealt him a grave disappointment. Being an eternal optimist is important to him.

"I think I'm happy with everything I've done," he said. "Everyone always likes to look back on what they did, and I can say I'm pretty proud of everything I've achieved."

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