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Luke Walsh has won back to back Spurrell Medals on Saturday night at the Ottawa Swans Australian Football Club Awards Night held at the Rideau Carleton Raceway in Ottawa.
In a nail-biting finish, the final three votes of the night separated the four players for the award with Walsh (30 votes) ultimately winning the 2009 Spurrell medal. Richard Keane and Darren Roffey (28 votes each) finished in a tie for second place, with Canadian Chris Lockhart finishing third with 27 votes.
Walsh, who missed five games between Rounds 2 and 6, finished strongly, polling 3 votes in the final round of the season to take him into the lead. In a humble speech, he paid tribute to the teammates that helped get the club four wins in 2009, and praised the efforts of co-captain Ryan Gregory.
Richard Keane, the Swans 2008 Most Consistent award winner, came up just short in the balloting for the Spurrell Medal, as did Darren Roffey. Roffey did take home his second Runner-Up award and the Leading Goal Kicker award for the second season running with 17 goals in 13 games in 2009. A big night for Roffey got bigger when he was named the Swans Most Consistent player for 2009 for his ability to perform both up back and down forward when asked.
The Ottawa Swans renamed the Coaches Award in 2009 to the Rich Keane Coaches Award, in honour of the Swans first coach. The 2009 winner was Zach Plunkett-Latimer for his commitment to the team and game day attitude no matter where he was asked to play. Zach was also the worthy winner of the 2009 Most Improved player award. Having spent 2008 learning the game, Zach broke out in 2009 with some solid body work and skills that will see him be one of the Swans players to watch in the future.
The Swans Rookie of the Year award was shared between Sean Robertson-Tait and Ryan Nader, with both Canadians receiving equal votes in the balloting.
The Best Canadian player award for 2009 was presented to Chris Lockhart. After being named 2008's Most Improved player, Lockhart took his game to a new level in 2009 playing at full back, arguably the game’s most difficult position. Lockhart made a late charge for the Best and Fairest title only to fall 3 votes short. However, his consistency and ability to play the game makes him a standout winner for Best Canadian. Many Swans observers expect Lockhart to take the top prize on awards night in a future season.
 Off the field, the Swans honoured their volunteer base with the Best Club Person award. The 2009 winner was Rob Duncan for his tireless work on gamedays, taking care of everything and anything that needed to be done. Volunteers like Duncan are hard to come by and this award is one small way for the Ottawa Swans to thank him and every other volunteer supporting the organization.
Inducted into the Swans Life Membership in 2009 was Swans President Ray Kaduck. Kaduck has been with the club since 2007 and President since 2008. His work ethic, commitment, and leadership have contributed to the Ottawa Swans becoming the league’s most respected club off the field.
The awards presentation event was another great night for the Swans. The club thanks Tammy Bowen and Lisa Dalla Rosa for turning the Players Lounge into a sea of red and white for the Swans celebration.
2009 Awards Night Photos:
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