The Kookaburras put more than three years of pain behind them on Saturday, winning their first game since 2012 with a four-point victory over Melton.

The result ended a 53-match winless streak, casting back to round 8, 2012 when Sebastopol last defeated Melton.

Tears flowed as celebrations erupted both on the ground and in the changerooms when the final siren sounded, as the heartache of years gone by instantly evaporated.

"A lot of people have watched us go through a lot of pain for years, it was an amazing feeling," Parker said.

"It really does mean a lot, it vindicates what we're doing and knowing that we're on the right path now."

Making the victory even more remarkable was the fact Sebastopol actually trailed by as much as seven goals in the third quarter and seemed destined to record yet another heavy loss.

In fact, the Burras didn't hit the lead once until about the 20-minute mark of the last quarter when Rowan Marshall kicked his third goal of the match to steer his side to victory.

What followed was five minutes of frantic, emotion-charged football in which Sebastopol was able to stave off a number of Melton attempts on goal.

For many watching, there was a strange sense of deja vu to the corresponding fixture in 2014, when Melton kicked a goal in the dying minutes to rob Sebastopol of victory.

Only this time, Sebastopol held on.

"The last couple of minutes seemed to go forever," Parker said.

"We've been pretty confident a win was just around the corner. It's been bubbling under the surface, we knew it was going to eventually happen."

For first year coach Shane Snibson, the greatest amount of joy came from watching his players celebrate the win.

"Looking in the eyes of the young guys, you could see the joy they got out of it," he said.

"Our team hasn't had many things go their way, we've had to work so hard for every little thing we get so it was just amazing.

"For me it was just 12 straight losses but for some people it was years and years without a win and they deserved every bit of it."

As satisfying as the victory was, made even moreso given Sebastopol had its annual ball on Saturday night, Snibson remained adamant the club could not take its foot off the pedal.

In reality, the Burras are still on the bottom of the BFL ladder and will remain there unless it can manufacture another win in the three remaining games this season.

"It's just the start, it's what we've got to build on," Snibson said.

It was Parker that summed it up perfectly, however, with one simple line.

"It sure beats the hell out of losing."