Seal made an emotional and passionate farewell speech at North Ballarat Roosters' Allen L Stott Memorial Medal dinner on Saturday night, in which he declared he was proud to say he was a North Ballarat player and always would be a North Ballarat player.

The key tall, who made his trademark as a defender, said the tough decision was a little bit physical and a little bit mental fatigue.

"Training sessions are harder, recovery is harder and the body is starting to slow down but there's my mind not knowing when to stop," Searl told The Courier.

"I've thoroughly enjoyed every moment at the club and I can't speak highly enough of the club or Fitzy (coach Gerard FitzGerald).

"And I'm lucky enough to have been involved in premierships."

Searl joined the Roosters in 2003, graduating from North Ballarat Rebels' TAC Cup program, and spent 10 seasons on the VFL list over two stints to play 143 VFL games and 48 VFL reserves matches.

He left Eureka Stadium after the 2009 VFL premiership for a two-year hiatus, returned in 2012 and has captained the team the past two seasons, succeeding Marc Greig and Shaune Moloney - both defenders and captains he paid tribute to in his speech.

In a decorated career, Searl was a joint Allen L Stott Memorial Medal winner with fellow defender Matt Sharkey in 2008, a VFL state representative player in 2008 and was named in the 2012 VFL team of the year.

Searl, who turns 30 later this month, said his retirement was a bittersweet decision - while it would be nice to have nights off after teaching all day at school, it would also be hard knowing his teammates were back out training. Especially once pre-season starts.

JOINT MEDALLISTS

MIDFIELDERS Nick Peters and Liam Anthony shared North Ballarat Roosters' best and fairest honours.

This is only the second time the Allen L Stott Medal was struck twice in club history, following joint-winning defenders Michael Searl and Matt Sharkey in 2008.

Both players made emotional acceptance speeches at North Ballarat Sports Club on Saturday night, humbled by the honour and in sharing the honour.

Peters, a 2010 premiership player, made a strong comeback to the VFL this season after a year working in the Kalgoorlie mines.

The 24-year-old said this felt his best season at the club, particularly after an injury-plagued period through 2011-12.

North Melbourne-listed midfielder Liam Anthony was overwhelmed with the medal, his first best and fairest prize ever, in the year he was delisted by the Kangaroos.

Anthony said he still hoped to keep his AFL career alive and, while vying to play AFL in his time with the Kangaroos, has loved and respected his time with the Roosters in the VFL.

In a tight count, Anthony and Peters polled 212 votes ahead of runner-up Tony Lockyer (167), Nick Rippon (164) and Lachie George (144).