Coach Shane Pryce quipped "there will be no asterisk on this squad" after his Lambton Jaffas turned the tables on Maitland 1-0 to give the club a third NPL men's championship on Sunday at No.2 Sportsground.
A Kale Bradbery strike in the 51st minute was enough for Jaffas against a 10-man Maitland, who lost defender Zach Thomas to a red card in the 23rd minute.
Refereeing decisions, melees and challenges dominated post-game talk but, in the end, Lambton gained revenge on Maitland, who beat them 3-1 in the last round to take the premiership.
It was also another chapter in their growing rivalry, which includes Jaffas being declared premiers last year when COVID-19 forced the season to be cut two rounds short. Maitland sat a point behind, with a game against Jaffas remaining.
The scenario had sparked debate about whether the 2021 premiership should have an asterisk next to it in the record books.
Pryce was proud his side had taken their chance to lift the silverware on Sunday.
"It was a bit ugly, but full credit to Maitland, their team, their coach, to push all that way with 10 men just shows why they were minor premiers," Pryce said of the win.
"But on the flipside, I'm proud of our players, their attitude and resilience. I've got a lot of respect for the boys in there.
"You're half expected to go on with it [after the send off] and score three or four, but the quality of Maitland didn't allow that and they fought all day.
"Credit to them, but there will be no asterisk on this squad."
Goalscorer Bradbery, 28, earned his first grand final player of the match award in his fourth appearance across stints at Magic and Jaffas.
Bradbery, who played in Jaffas' 2014 win, believed the vast grand final experience in the Lambton line-up was pivotal.
"I knew coming into this we had a lot of boys who had played in them," he said. "And at the end of the day, the experience won through."
Pryce was pleased to farewell assistant coach Bobby Naumov and retiring centre-back Luke Virgili from the club as winners.
