SALE coach Adrian Cox was joint-winner of the Trood Award and Rodda Medal, despite polling the second highest number of votes.
Cox was named the West Gippsland-Latrobe Football League's senior best-and-fairest with Traralgon forward Michael Geary after Moe ruckman Chris Hancock polled the most votes, but was ruled ineligible because of a one-match suspension arising from a round 10 match against Garfield.
Hancock finished on 15 votes, one ahead of Cox and Geary.
Cox began the season with three votes in Sale's win at Morwell and got the three votes in the final two wins against Moe and Warragul.
He is the first Sale winner of the Trood Award and Rodda Medal since Magpies premiership coach John Nix won the award way back in 1957. The only other Sale player to win the award was Bob Mason, who won the first two awards in 1954 and 1955.
In presenting the medal, league president Brian McKenzie said Cox had done well to coach Sale to the flag last year, but felt that his coaching this year had gone to another level working with a team which had lost several senior players.
Geary, who had to overcome quite a few hurdles to keep playing football, was quite emotional when receiving his award.
This is just the second time in league history a player has polled the most votes, but has been unable to accept the award due to suspension. Coincidentally, the other time, in 1963, the player featured was also from the Moe, Don Keyter.
The 14 votes polled by Cox and Geary equals the lowest winning total for the medal, indicative of the closeness of season 2009.
A total of 14 votes has won the Trood Award and Rodda Medal on two other occasions, in 1977 (current state politician Peter Hall) and 1993 (Maffra's Anthony Gravener).
Maffra forward Daniel Stubbe polled 13 votes, level with Warragul's Ryan Davey.
Grand finalists Maffra and Traralgon have four and five representatives respectively in the WGLFL team of the year.
Stubbe and Craig Robbins were named in forward pockets, Adrian Burgiel on the half-forward flank with Hayden Burgiel on the bench.
Traralgon coach Steve Hazelman was named coach.
Cox was Sale's only representative in the team.
Drouin's Ben Proctor won the Rex Hartley Medal as the reserves best-and-fairest on 27 votes with Maffra ruckman Andrew Dunsmuir third on 15.
Ebony Mumford from Drouin won the A grade netball award, Morwell's Kate Michaelides won B grade and Warragul's Kelly Gavin C grade.
Team of the year:
Backs: A Govers (Leon), A Payne (Moe), B Sheehan (Warr); half-backs: J Aitken (Trar), D Carmody (Dr), L Cummins (Trar); centres: R Davey (Warr), T Makepeace (Moe), M Dow (Dr); half-forwards: M Geary (Trar), M Forys (Moe), A Burgiel (Maff); forwards: D Stubbe (Maff), D Holt (Leon), C Robbins (Maff); followers: C Hancock (Moe), A Cox (Sale), B Knowles (Mor); interchange: B Eastwell (Garf), R Hore (Trar), H Burgiel (Maff); coach: S Hazelman (Trar).