Joint Winners of 2009 Meninga Medal

The CFMEU Canberra Raiders most prestigious award has two winners this year with Josh Miller and Josh Dugan joint winners of the 2009 Meninga Medal.

Dugan becomes the third player to win the Raiders Player of the Year in his debut NRL season alongside Ricky Stuart (1988) and Mark McLinden (1998), while Miller takes home his second Player of the Year award and his second joint award after sharing it with Troy Thompson in 2005.

Contrasting players on the field both Miller and Dugan have had fantastic seasons for the Green Machine in 2009, with Miller leading the Raiders forward pack with his trademark hard running and fearless defence, while Dugan has injected his class into the Raiders backline from fullback.

In one of the closest contests to date the Meninga Medal was decided in the very last round, with both Dugan and Miller polling points against the Broncos at Suncorp Stadium. Miller went into the last round with a two point lead on 17 votes, two clear of Dugan, but a man of the match performance from the rookie gave him three votes in the last round with Miller getting one vote to force a tie.

It capped of a memorable night for Dugan as he also collected the Raiders Rookie of the Year award for his outstanding season, just clear of fellow rookie Jarrod Croker who has also been a standout in 2009 collecting 15 Meninga Medal Votes.

Bronson Harrison collected the NRL coach