Michael Hancock (rugby league)

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Michael Hancock
Personal information
Full nameMichael John Hancock
Born (1969-10-21) 21 October 1969 (age 54)
Stanthorpe, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight94 kg (14 st 11 lb)
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1987
Toowoomba
1988–00 Brisbane Broncos 274 120 2 0 484
2001–02 Salford City Reds 37 7 0 0 28
Total 311 127 2 0 512
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1989–96
Queensland
 14 5 0 0 20
1989–94
Australia
 13 5 0 0 20
1997 Queensland (SL) 2 1 0 0 4
Source: [1][2][3][4]

Michael John "Mick" Hancock (born 21 October 1969) is an Australian former

2000. At the time of his retirement from football in Australia in 2000 he held the Broncos' club records for most career appearances. He played out the rest of his career in England with the Salford City Reds
and retired in 2002.

Early career

Hancock started out playing in the under 16's/18's and A Grade in the

Toowoomba rugby league for the Stanthorpe Gremlins.[5]
The young
Toowoomba Clydesdales in the Winfield State League
.

First grade career

In 1988, Hancock joined the

1988's season opener at Brisbane's Lang Park in a side that included representative players Wally Lewis (captain), Colin Scott, Joe Kilroy, Gene Miles, Allan Langer, Bryan Niebling, Greg Dowling and Greg Conescu
.

In 1989, Hancock made his début for the

1989 mid-season tour of New Zealand while still a teenager. Having already represented his state in all three matches of that year's Origin series, he also played in all six matches on the New Zealand tour, scoring three tries. He played in all three Tests against the Kiwis and scored his first try in test football in Australia's 8–0 win in the second test at the Rotorua International Stadium on 16 July. He was known for his strength, elusiveness and a wide-legged running style that allowed him to change direction sharply and sometimes several times as he approached opposition defences. Hancock was named the 1989 Brisbane Broncos season's rookie of the year.[7]

1990s

In 1990 Hancock missed the one-off Test against

Halifax, Shearer's form was such (scoring a try in the Aussies 14–10 win at Old Trafford
in the second test) that Hancock was unable to regain his test spot for the remainder of the tour.

In 1991 he was overlooked for the mid-season

St George Dragons 28–8 in the 1992 Winfield Cup Grand Final. He then traveled to England where he played on the wing in Australia's 10–6 win over Great Britain in the 1992 World Cup final in front of 73,631 fans at Wembley Stadium, London. Hancock had a solid game in the WCF, keeping St. Helens winger Alan Hunte quiet. A week after the Final, Hancock scored two tries in Brisbane's 22–8 victory over English champions Wigan in the 1992 World Club Challenge at Central Park. In winning the Broncos became the first Australian team to win the World Club Challenge
on British soil.

Hancock made his second tour of New Zealand in 1993, playing all three tests of the

1993, again defeating St George in the Grand Final. During the 1994 NSWRL season, Hancock played at centre for Brisbane when they lost 20–14 against Wigan in the 1994 World Club Challenge in front of a WCC record attendance of 54,220 at Brisbane's ANZ Stadium
.

Michael Hancock played his last test for Australia in

1994, his test career ended when he injured his shoulder in a training mishap only a week before the first Ashes test at Wembley. In a case of Déjà vu
with 1990, he would return to the field before the tour ended, but wasn't able to regain his test place either on tour or in the following years.

2000s

The advent of the unlimited interchange rule prolonged Hancock's career, with coach Wayne Bennett opting to use him as an impact player on the wing or in the

2000 NRL grand final to play out the rest of his career for Salford in England. Also in 2000 Hancock was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league. At the time of his retirement, he held the record for most appearances for the Broncos until Darren Lockyer surpassed him in 2007, and was number two on the club's all-time top try-scorers list with 120 (second only to Steve Renouf
's 142).

Post-playing

In 2003, Hancock was one of the first four former players inducted into the Broncos official Hall of Fame.[8] During the 2007 season at the Broncos' 20-year anniversary celebration, the club announced a list of the 20 best players to play for them to date which included Hancock.[9] In 2008, rugby league in Australia's centenary year, Hancock was named on the wing in the Toowoomba and South West Team of the Century.[10]

Hancock has been involved in rugby league development encouraging children to take up the sport.[11]

References

  1. ^ NRL Stats[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ RLP
  3. ^ SL Stats Archived 1 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Yesterday's Hero Archived 26 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ http://stanthorpegremlins.com.au/about
  6. ISBN 9780702233838
    .
  7. ^ "Honour Board". Brisbane Broncos. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 22 December 2013.
  8. ^ "Broncos Hall of Fame". Brisbane Broncos. Archived from the original on 26 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  9. ^ Dekroo, Karl (9 May 2007). "Still the king". The Courier-Mail. Australia: Queensland Newspapers. Archived from the original on 12 May 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  10. ^ Leslie, Cameron (21 August 2008). "Rugby League Team of the Century named". The Chronicle. Retrieved 8 January 2012.
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 May 2017. Retrieved 22 July 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michael_Hancock_(rugby_league)&oldid=1197536874"