Sydney Roosters coach Brian Smith has been rewarded for taking the club from NRL wooden spooners to finalists by being named Dally M Coach of the Year on Monday.

The 56-year-old, who joined the Roosters from Newcastle at the start of the season, guided the team to sixth spot on the ladder on the back of 14 wins - nine more than they chalked up in 2009.

Smith's decision to move Todd Carney from fullback to five-eighth alongside NSW halfback Mitchell Pearce was a main factor in the team's mid-season purple patch that saw them record five successive wins.

It is the second time in Smith's 26-year career he has won the award having scooped the prize in 2001 when at the helm of Parramatta.

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