In 2009 Monaghan made it to the division 2 league final in which they played Cork. Freeman was still Monaghan's best player in this year but received a 2 match ban for an incident where he tried to hit a Derry player in the Ulster Quarter Final. Freeman was sorely missed in their next 2 games against Armagh and Derry, although Monaghan made a fine display to beat 'The Orchard County' on a score of 0–13 to 012 after extra time but Banty's army fell short with Tommy still serving his 2 match ban during the encounter with 'The Oak Leaf County'.