FORMER Stanthorpe rugby league player Michael Hancock was guest speaker at the first Daily News/Warwick Credit Union Junior Sports Star of the Year dinner.

The dinner, which honoured monthly junior winners from 1993, was held at the Warwick RSL and drew a crowd of 160.

Hancock set many records at the Brisbane Broncos with his try scoring on the wing and his number of games. He was a regular in Queensland and Australian teams in a long career.

Hockey player Dean Butler won the first overall award after making the Australian under-17 schoolboys team in hockey and the Brisbane Blades development squad. In cricket, Butler scored 1956 runs and took 65 wickets for the year.

The first senior dinner was for the 1994 monthly winners with guest speakers Charlie Earp, who was Greg Norman's first golf coach and politician/social golfer Sir James Killen.

Greg Newey was the first annual winner after winning the Australian Champion of Champions in Melbourne in clay target shooting.

He beat 400 competitors from all Australian states and overseas in a 75-target competition to be one of three shooters to record 125 out of a possible 125.

Troy March captained the Queensland under-17 secondary schools hockey side in the nationals and won player of the series to win the junior award in 1994.

Guest speakers in the first five years included retired Australian cricket captain Allan Border, Earp, Hancock, Sir James Killen and rugby league players Trevor Gillmeister, Garrick Morgan and Anthony Herbert from the then second Brisbane NRL team, South Queensland Crushers.

Three of the early encouragement award winners were Stephanie Hancock, Clare McMeniman and Greg Holmes.

Hancock went on to win a national open title in javelin and represent the Australian Jillaroos in rugby league.

McMeniman starred in athletics and netball at school in Warwick. She went on to represent Australia in under-21 netball and made the open squad before winning an ANZ Championship with the Queensland Firebirds in 2011.

Holmes is currently in the Queensland Reds front row in the Super Rugby competition and played for the Wallabies.

Winners 1993-1997

1993 Junior

Daniel Morrison - Cycling

Brooke McMonagle - Swimming

Chad McKenzie - Athletics

Dean Butler - Hockey/Cricket

Daniel Mangan - Hockey

Troy March - Hockey/Cricket

Allisha McKenzie - Athletics

Michael Dawes - Motor racing

Niall O'Leary - Gymnastics

Ricky Moss - Gymnastics

Anthony Olive - Golf

Scott Luttrell - Athletics

Dean Butler - Overall winner

1994 Junior

Grant McCasker - Cricket

Dean Butler - Cricket/Hockey

Ashley Forster - Squash

John Ryan - Athletics

Kayla Jordan - Gymnastics

Grant Windle - Hockey

Troy March - Hockey/Cricket

Trent Paul - Golf

Tim Green - Karate

Sam Wilson - Athletics

Andrew Pearce - Cricket

Troy March - Overall winner

1994 Senior

Frank Hart - Sailing

Meryl Wilson - Archery

Greg Newey - Shooting

Michael Coorey - Rugby league

Allan Waugh - Polocrosse

Cheryl Sternberg - Golf

Allan Flood - Rodeo

Stephen Gray - Australian Rules

Daniel Noble - Softball

Henry Webb - Cricket

Steve Hilton - Rodeo

Greg Newey - Overall winner

1995 - Junior

Kelly Murphy - Swimming

Frank Lo Giudice - Squash

Troy March - Hockey

Tom Purbrick - Football

Jane Evans - Golf

Leigh Murphy - Gymnastics

Clare Nolan - Cross Country/Athletics

Nicole Bourke - Gymnastics

Ricky Moss - Gymnastics

Karen Bell - Dressage

Tim Green - Karate

Greg Holmes - Athletics

Troy March and Leigh Murphy - Encouragement awards

Clare Nolan - Overall winner

1995 Senior

Troy Welsh - Cricket

David Richards - Rugby league

Dean Butler - Hockey

Christian Robertson - Rugby league

John Hammermeister - Body building

Chris Riggs - Gymnastics

Mark O'Leary - Polocrosse

Debbie Smith - Gymnastics

Joanne Fraser - Dressage

Glenn Zimmerle - Hockey

Sylvia Roberts - Eventing

Dean Butler - Overall winner

1996 Junior

Damon Gosen - Tennis

Kurt Goodwin - Athletics

Troy March - Hockey

Grant Windle - Hockey

David Hallman - Boxing

Adam Byrne - Hockey

Susan Lomas - Gymnastics

Warwick Fraser - Polocrosse

Greg Holmes - Athletics

Russell McMillan - Rugby league

Stephanie Hancock - Athletics

Leigh Murphy - Gymnastics

Grant Windle and Stephanie Hancock - Encouragement awards

Troy March - Overall winner

1996 Senior

Errol Hall - Cricket

Ged Byrne - Boxing

Wayne Guse - Tennis

Ross Shepherd - Polocrosse

Dennis Firth - Bowls

Derek Gilmore - Polo

Nancy Howard - Golf

Wesley Smith - Rugby league

Tina Ross - Rodeo

Johnny Osborne - Rodeo

Allan Flood - Rodeo

Errol Hall - Overall winner

1997 Junior

Ben Simonelli - Cycling

Darryl Joe Kong - Taek-won-do

Sarah Batterham - Pony club

Brett O'Farrell - Rugby league

Luke Forster - Squash

David Hughes - Rugby league

Leigh Murphy - Gymnastics

Tim Green - Karate

Greg Holmes - Athletics

Ned Trigg - Polocrosse

Stephanie Hancock - Athletics

Clare McMeniman - Athletics

Greg Holmes and Clare McMeniman - Encouragement awards

Leigh Murphy - Overall winner

1997 Senior

Steve Hilton - Rodeo

Trevor Gordon - Shooting

Val Wilkinson - Gliding

Matthew Hagenbach - Hockey

Stephen Hawthorne - Hockey

Warren Wright - Tennis

Possum Richards - Equestrian

Peter Rutledge - Hockey

Chris Riggs - Gymnastics

Damien Lawler - Boxing

Troy March - Hockey

Steve Hilton - Overall winner