A CHAMPION thrower and a consistent rifle shooter were the major winners at last night's Daily News/Warwick Credit Union Senior Sports Star of the Year awards night at the Warwick RSL Memorial Club.

Allora athlete Matthew Denny won his first senior sports star of the year award after finishing fourth in discus at the World Junior Championships in the United States last year.

He won gold in discus, hammer and shot put in the Australian Junior Championships last year and was second in open hammer.

The second place and two other throws in hammer were B qualifiers for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow but Denny opted to compete in the world juniors, his last chance in his own age group.

He also threw a B qualifier in discus and finished the year with a discus throw which was fifth best in history in juniors anywhere in the world.

The amazing thing about Denny's success is he had done it all from Allora where he does his own gym work, throws on the side of the hill below the family home and then travels to Toowoomba for sessions with coach Grahame Pitt.

While the sports awards are all about the year that was, Denny has gone on this year to win the open national title in hammer and qualify for the World University Games.

Rob Bondfield became the third winner of the Warwick RSL Memorial Club "Local Sports Person of the Year" after a year in which he enjoyed success at three Queens shoots.

He was sixth overall in a field of 250 and first in veterans at the Western Australian Queens Shoot and continued his winning runs with another victory in the Southern Downs Rifle Club Championship.

Bondfield won at Goondiwindi and carried on as a dedicated volunteer for the club.

He worked on maintaining the range and targets at Risdon Range and was heavily involved in organisation of club shoots.

As club captain, he is hands on at weekly club shoots each Sunday morning.