Coach Rhys Morgan had nothing but praise for everybody connected with the relegated National Two club who had battled through in the most difficult of circumstances.
Prop Laurence Sanderson failed to show up and remained incommunicado, earning a stinging rebuke from the coach.
That meant a place in the starting line up for on-loan Sam Walsh at tight head with forty-something Richard Szabo named on the bench.
But those travails failed to put a dampener on proceedings as Halifax stood up to the plate and finally realised the potential that had been evident in patches and which had gained momentum over the past few weeks.
"I am so proud and absolutely chuffed to bits for every single one of them," said Morgan. "It has been one hell of a difficult season but this group of players have shown tremendous character to keep turning out, taking the defeats on the chin and getting back up again.
"It was also great for the officials at the club, who showed what it meant to them. They could not have been more supportive when, to be quite honest, they could have binned me at any time.
"But everybody has stuck with it and this result may only be a small one as far as the season as a whole goes, but it could be a massive one in respect of what we are trying to build for next season."
Waterloo started at a high tempo and Halifax needed to work hard to keep the visitors at bay.
Yet Morgan's side showed flashes of what was to come, swift hands seeing Gareth Lewis slip the ball to Joe Knowles who in turn tried to find Gareth Brear only for the ball to flash into touch.
Both sides were determined to play attacking rugby.
Ben Mitchell set off on a thrilling run, dummied a pass to Oli Marns and made further ground before off-loading from the floor to Lewis, who was tackled hard. That sparked the first of a handful of brief melees between two fully committed sets of players.
Knowles then showed his pace, scrum half Ronan Dillon further worrying the Waterloo defence with a lovely chip towards the corner where Brear was just denied a touch.
Those sighters proved valuable because another excellent break saw Halifax post the first points.
Richard Brown, who was sensational throughout, broke several tackles in a determined sortie following a lineout. He received support from Lewis who floated a pass out to Marns and he scorched over in the corner, Knowles landing a tremendous touchline conversion.
Less than 10 minutes later, Halifax doubled their lead. A pack bolstered by Rotherham player Walsh pushed Waterloo back at a rate of knots and hooker Will Kay flopped over, Knowles making it 14-0 with a straightforward kick.
It was Kay's last act as he was still suffering from the effects of a virus that limited his appearance against Blackheath, Rob Townsend coming on as a straight replacement.
The game developed into a tetchy encounter with Waterloo clearly not happy about being handed a lesson by the division's bottom club.
And it got even better for Halifax when the visitors infringed and Knowles needed no further invitation to land the penalty for a 17-0 interval lead.
Waterloo stand off Alex Davies wasted a chance to get his side on the scoreboard early in the second period, his penalty coming back off a post. A similar fate befell Halifax's Knowles soon after as both sides struggled to make any headway.
Brear failed to hold another pass that could have brought dividends and Waterloo were reduced to 14 men, centre Jason Duffy sent to cool off for foul play and showed his frustration by kicking the water bottles on the touchline.
Halifax were unable to make their superior numbers count and it was only when Waterloo were restored to their full complement that Knowles nudged Halifax further ahead with a penalty for offside.
Waterloo made sure Halifax would have to sweat it out when centre Nicola Mazzucato sneaked in, Davies converting, and then tested the home defence to the limit.

MATCH FACTS
Halifax: Knowles, D Hall, Marns, Mitchell, Brear, Gordon, Dillon, Blades, Kay, Walsh, L Brown, M Harrison, Moon, Lewis, R Brown. Reps: Townsend (Kay 27), White, F Hall, Szabo
Tries: Marns, Kay
Conversions: Knowles (2)
Penalties: Knowles (2)
Drop goals: None
Yellow cards: None
Red cards: None

Waterloo: Lowden, Parrot, Mazzucato, Duffy, Dodd, A Davies, Feijoo, Jones, Ormisher, Pani, Nugent, Davidson, Shaw, Bradley, T Davies Reps:Jones, Nuttall (Dodd 55), York (Davies 40), Kerfoot.
Tries: Mazzucato
Conversions: A Davies
Penalties: None
Drop goals: None
Yellow cards: Duffy (foul play, 57)
Red cards: None

Referee: Luke Pearce (RFU)

STARMAN
Following on from the game at Blackheath, this was another display in which everybody in blue and white deserved points.
But No 8 Richard Brown edged the verdict with a display of power, determination and great pride.
Every time he got the ball he made yards in an all action 80 minute performance.
Not only did he keep Halifax on the front foot and bring his colleagues into play, but he also looked likely to burst through himself. When he wasn't attacking the Waterloo defences he was tackling like a demon - his workrate never letting up.
Ben Mitchell was a player in the same mould. Normally a winger he admitted to enjoying playing in the centre and after his slight frame took a battering against Blackheath, this time the youngster was ready for the challenge and worked his socks off.
He put in a fearsome tackling stint and also used his pace to create openings. He also showed great defensive awareness, helping to mop up on more than one occasion.
Adam Blades has led the side in the absence of regular skipper Danny McGee and he certainly does it by example.
Always fully committed, Blades is never far away when the going gets tough, and he is always the first to throw himself into any situation that would upset the opposition's rhythm.
On Saturday his work in facing up and protecting the ball in the rucks and mauls was first class.
Brown takes three points, Mitchell two and Blades one in the season-long competition.

PLAYER POINTS
WORKOUT WAREHOUSE PLAYER OF THE SEASON: 25 Matt Harrison; 24 Gareth Lewis; 17 Craig Aikman; 16 George Jenkins; 14 Joe Knowles; 11 Richard Brown;10 Oli Marns; 8 Dominic Moon; 6 Ben Mitchell; 5 Adam Blades, Tom Eaton; 4 Danny McGee, Dave Hall; 3 James Endersby, Iain Gordon; 2 Richard White, Fraser Hall; 1 Phil Skillen, Martin Smith, Gareth Brear, Lee Brown.