The Battle of Bell Street is an Australian rules football rivalry, contested by the Coburg Football Club[a] and the Northern Bullants.[b] It is one of the oldest rivalries in the Victorian Football League (VFL), which was known as the Victorian Football Association (VFA) until 1996.[3]

Battle of Bell Street
First meeting7 June 1926
(Preston 69-112 Coburg)
Latest meeting13 May 2023
(Coburg 80-87 Northern)
Next meeting2024
Statistics
Meetings total159
All-time series (VFL only)Northern 81 wins
Coburg 75 wins
Drawn 3 times

The clubs have met 159 times as of 2023, with the Bullants winning 81 times since the first clash in 1926.[4]

History

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Coburg and the Bullants are closely located, with their respective home grounds of Coburg City Oval and Preston City Oval divided by Bell Street in Preston (hence the name of the rivalry).[5]

The first clash was on 7 June 1926, with Coburg defeating Preston by 43 points. Preston's first win was a 29-point victory on 6 July 1929.[4][6]

No match between the clubs occurred in the cancelled 2020 season, nor in the 2022 season.[7]

Matches

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COB Match won by Coburg/Coburg-Fitzroy
NBUL Match won by Preston/Northern
DRAW Match drawn
CNCL Match cancelled

Seniors

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Year Rd Winner Loser Score Margin Venue Date Report
1926 6 Coburg (1) Preston (1) 16.16 (112) d. 10.9 (69) 43 Preston City Oval 5 June 1926
1926 15 Coburg (2) Preston (2) 17.18 (120) d. 7.9 (51) 69 Coburg City Oval 7 August 1926
2020 12 N/A Highgate Reserve 20 June 2020 [8][9]
2023 12 Northern Bullants Coburg N/A 7 Piranha Park 13 May 2023
2024 13 Coburg Northern Bullants 10.12 (72) d. 8.11 (59) 13 Piranha Park 23 June 2024 [10]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Competed as Coburg-Fitzroy from 1999−2000; affiliated with the Richmond Football Club from 2001−2013.[1]
  2. ^ Competed as the Preston Football Club until 2000; affiliated with the Carlton Football Club from 2003−2020; known as the Northern Blues from 2012−2020.[2]

References

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  1. ^ "Tigers to endanger Coburg's survival". The Age. 13 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Carlton and Northern Blues forced to cease alignment". Carlton Football Club. 26 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Historic VFA rivalry between Coburg and Preston returns to Piranha Park". Herald Sun.
  4. ^ a b "Old foes set for Battle of Bell Street". afl.com.au. 11 May 2023.
  5. ^ McCormick, Michael (8 June 2015). "Blues fall short in Battle of Bell Street". Carlton Football Club.
  6. ^ "1926 VFA Premiership Season". Australian Football.
  7. ^ "2022 VFL fixture: Round one locked in, remaining match-ups confirmed". afl.com.au. 22 February 2022.
  8. ^ Filippo, Cristian (18 December 2019). "2020 VFL fixture announced". Carlton Football Club. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  9. ^ "Coburg vs Northern Blues". GameDay. VFL / VFLW. 20 June 2024. Archived from the original on 29 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  10. ^ Rhodes, Brendan (24 June 2024). "REVIEW: Smithy's VFL Round 13". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 July 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  NODES
Association 1
Note 3