It was not amongst Grilled's most memorable of seasons, whether in on-field footballing performances or in the expectations game, but they did deliver the results where it mattered. A fifth Division Two title bookended a series of competent, if not especially imaginative, outings, as the aging Birds found redemption in parlaying their collective experience into a coherent long campaign.

The less said about the cups, on the other hand, the better, as Grilled endured perhaps their worst runs ever, suffering straight knockouts from Red Chaos and All The King Men. This might however have contributed to their league form, as they crucially weathered two important draws against Batok Earthquakes and Arcturules in that period, that confirmed their championship credentials.

They would end the first half of the season unbeaten, but FC Barca Singapore then showed up a chink in their armour, with Liow Kok Aik leading them to a 4-2 home win to open up the race. Arcturules would build on that with a near-flawless 3-0 in which former Grilled trainee Yuta Nakakita dominated, and Batok Earthquakes appeared poised to take over down the home stretch.

Squeaky bum time followed, and the Birds' three-all draw with Earthquakes the next week only heightened the tension. The highlight of the season followed, as Grilled mounted a fantastic comeback versus akodo to keep themselves in it, and FC Barca Singapore then did Grilled a great favour by stopping Batok, even as iconic skipper Tian Yonghang eked out an emotional title-winning goal against former S-League champs Rovers.

For the Farmer Bunnies though, not even Swiss goalie Vivian Grubenmann's record S$4.6 million transfer was sufficient to get them the edge over WhiteSandsMech, who romped to the IV.13 title with a perfect record. There was disappointment for the likes of Tham Leng Teck and Kwek Yun Jie too, as their anticipated national youth caps never materialised, but Lau Chang Wan and Wong Ting Yew were arguably the beneficiaries, as they featured on the retooled Young Lions squad.

The Buns' campaign was also marked by popular head coach Elias van Dal's abrupt resignation late in the season for personal reasons, which however was softened by replacement player-coach Sikong Darong stepping in with nary a hiccup. Sikong pledged to keep things as they were, and won plaudits for insisting on directing from a wheelchair after suffering an unfortunate accidental injury.