Leading by one vote heading into the final round, Cassidy briefly drifted into second when Melton livewire Jack Walker took the lead with 14 votes after a best-on-ground performance against Bacchus Marsh.

It wouldn't be long before the Burra midfielder regained his place though - polling three votes in a dominant 111-point win against Melton South to top the count with 16 votes.

Walker finished second, ahead of ruckmen Cameron McCallum, from North Ballarat, and 2018 Henderson Medallist Daniel Burton, from Bacchus Marsh, who both polled 11 votes.

Cassidy had a dominant season, standing up as a leader in an injury-ravaged Sebastopol group.

The hard-at-it onballer collected votes in six games and was named best-on-ground four times in wins against East Point, Lake Wendouree, Darley and Melton South.

Cassidy was one of only five to play every game for the Burra this season, and captained the side after Tony Lockyer's season-ending injury.

The best-and-fairest win sees Cassidy become Sebastopol's first league best-and-fairest winner in over two decades and puts in him rarefied company in the club's history.

Glen Wilkins, who shared the honour with Daylesford's Tim Beacham in 1996, and Terry Howard, who tied with Beaufort's Alan Lynch in 1979, are the club's only other Henderson Medallists.

Cassidy arrived at Marty Busch Reserve in 2018 after the disbandment of the North Ballarat Roosters VFL side.

Previously he had been aligned with Ballarat, where he played as a junior and featured in the Swans' losing 2014 grand final.

Sebastopol narrowly missed finals in Cassidy's debut season, which also saw him play for the BFNL's interleague side.

Cassidy played every game in a historic 2019 season, which saw Sebastopol advance to the grand final for the first time since 2000.

The 2021 season demanded everything of the onballer, with Sebastopol languishing on the edge of finals contention midway through the year.

Cassidy collected five votes from the final two rounds - in which the Burra were missing nearly 10 top-line players - to push his side from seventh to fourth on the final day of the season.