Grilled Birds returned to cup-winning ways after nine long years, as they picked up the Sapphire Challenger Cup from a final against Featureship FC, to become the first local club to win all three Challenger Cups multiple times. It was however all merely more or less staying on schedule for ambitious head coach Tian Yonghang, no stranger to honours himself, as he charted a return to glory for the Birds' newest crop of stars.

Impressively, no major buys were involved in Grilled's cup success, although they did bring in former national defender Hong Kang Leong for the finals, only to sell him on to Pinoy Prazilia at the end of the campaign with Raúl Himadas arriving. Japanese reserve goalkeeper Dahan Bok was also acquired around then, only to suffer a very unfortunate thigh injury early on in his friendly debut against Lógre.

Otherwise, it was just the same old squad battling throguh Arcturules in the third round of the Singapore Cup, before getting stopped 3-5 by S-League entrants HEBFC Tonners FC. The Birds then ran a tough gauntlet of Kungfu 11, frunzelax and league rivals Singapore Red Dragons in the Sapphire Challenger Cup, before a throwback battle with Sarcastic Fringeheads that Lim An Keng eventually won in the 77th minute. Featureship FC would knock favourites littlehorse out in the other semifinals, leaving Mohd Marzuki Khairul to demolish them in an unexpectedly open final.

Lim An Keng's scoring exploits continued in the league, where he secured his first scoring title with his maiden hat-trick, coming against Queenstown MZKs in the very last round of games. This was not in either his or Tian's to-do list, to say the least, but it was an accolade that was more than welcome. Defensive inconsistency - and probably Hong's lack of pace in critical matches - would see the Birds lose five matches in a fourth-place finish, one which the coaches and players believe that they can surely improve on for the coming season.

If the Birds had tasted impending greatness, it was a forgettable year for Farmer Bunnies and Grilled International, both of whom relegated with just two league wins to their name. The Buns found their lack of offensive bite a fatal deficiency in Division Two, with just three goals scored against teams not named Pasir Ris Corsairs. Vishnu Tallapaka put it down to teething problems as he adjusted his squad to a new long-shooting style, but from how they were playing even towards the end of the season, there may be much pain ahead for Buns supporters.

The cups were not kind to them either, although the ultradefensive pressing that won them the Consolation Cup last term would serve them fairly well. Narrow 0-1 defeats, first to Queenstown MZKs in the main draw, and then to eventual finalists Featureship FC in the Sapphire Challenger Cup, would sadly kill their dreams.

Grilled International for their part would limp along with Hardi bin Besar back, as even his vaunted aura could not lift such a tired squad. Straight shutouts against Internacional Norte F.C. and Yggdrasil finished their cup commitments, while Darshana De Abrew and his defenders more or less went through the motions in the league. International would be rooted in last place after the fifth round of games, as they got miserably found out by just about everybody else.