REBELS key tall Oscar McDonald and coach David Loader were recognised for standout years at the TAC Cup's Morrish Medal dinner on Sunday night.
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McDonald won the TAC Cup coaches' award as voted on by league coaches while Loader was named TAC Cup coach of the year.
Their awards come on a bittersweet day for the Rebels, who earlier lost their semi-final to Sandringham.
McDonald (Edenhope-Apsley) becomes the third Rebel to win the coveted coaches' award and delivers the Rebels the honour for a third consecutive season.
He follows in the footsteps of Jake Lloyd (2012) and Louis Herbert (2013), who are both now on AFL lists Lloyd with Sydney Swans and Herbert with Gold Coast Suns.
McDonald polled 30 votes as the coaches' best and one vote clear of Gippsland Power midfielder Alex Carr, who later collected the Morrish Medal as the TAC Cup's best and fairest.
McDonald, who has primarily plied his trade across half-back this year, was named at centre half-back in the TAC Cup team of the year.
Rebels ruckman Rowan Marshall, a Vic Country representative, joined him in team of the year stakes and was named as ruckman.
St Patrick's College football captain Liam Duggan (Western Jets) was named on the wing.
Loader claimed his first TAC Cup coach of the year honours.
He led the Rebels from a winless opening four matches into an eight-game winning streak.
The streak started with a breakthrough win against then-undefeated ladder leader Oakleigh Chargers and bolted the Rebels up the ranks into the top four.
They snared a hard-fought win against the Queensland under-18 state team in Brisbane before faltering and falling out of the top four late in the season.
The Rebels pulled off a two-point win against the Chargers in the final round and, with results in their favour, finished inside the four and with a finals double chance.
TAC CUP TEAM OF THE YEAR
B: Daniel Howe (Murray), Daniel Nielson (Eastern), Darcy Parrish (Geelong).
HB: Ed Vickers-Willis (Sandringham), Oscar McDonald (North Ballarat), Corey Ellis (Western Jets).
C: Jayden Laverde (Western), Alex Carr (Gippsland), Liam Duggan (Western).
HF: Christian Petracca (Eastern), Darcy Moore (Oakleigh), Rhys Mathieson (Geelong).
F: Jack Lonie (Dandenong), Peter Wright (Calder), Touk Miller (Calder).
R: Rowan Marshall (North Ballarat), Angus Brayshaw (Sandringham), Nathan Drummond (Murray).
INTER: Billy Evans (Bendigo), Kyle Langford (Northern), Taylor Grace (Sandringham), Paul Ahern (Calder), Isaac Heeney (NSW/ACT Rams), Alex Urban (Oakleigh).
COACH: David Loader (North Ballarat).
MORRISH MEDAL TOP 10:
A Carr (Gippsland) 17, T McLean (Oakleigh) 14, A Urban (Oakleigh) 12, B Monk (Western) 12, C Petracca (Eastern) 12, T Miller (Calder) 12, B Maynard (Sandringham) 11, J Volpato (Western) 11, S Switkowski (Northern) 11, Z Wunhym (Calder) 11.
