It wasn’t the fairytale ending on the pitch for Swinburne FC’s Reserves, who went down 5-0 to Reservoir United in Sunday’s Metro 6 Grand Final at Point Cook.

But the heavy defeat did little to dampen the spirits of the team, who were finally able to properly celebrate their league triumph after a rollercoaster finish to the regular season.

The Reserves claimed the Metro 6 South-East league title, finishing one point clear of Monash after a tense conclusion to the campaign.

Originally, the celebrations were put on hold due to complications with the final ladder standings and an ongoing review by Football Victoria.

The confusion centred on a fixture between Monash and Ashburton. Ashburton fielded an ineligible player who had already featured in more than a dozen State League matches that season.

Under FV rules, players registered in State League are ineligible to play Metro competition.

As a result, Ashburton were stripped of the three points from their victory. However, FV opted not to award the points to Monash, a decision that ultimately secured Swinburne’s place at the top of the table.

That ruling meant Swinburne FC’s Reserves were confirmed as league Premiers, though they had to wait until after the Grand Final to celebrate properly.

And celebrate they did. With the uncertainty finally lifted, the boys marked the occasion with a well-deserved title party and some fantastic photos captured by club photographer Charlie Bischard.

While the Grand Final result wasn’t what they had hoped for, the achievement of claiming the league crown will go down as a proud moment for the squad and the club.