Jump to content

Battle of Bell Street

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 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]

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

History

[edit]

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]

Senior matches

[edit]
Year Date Rd Home team Score Away team Score Ground Winner Margin
1926 5/6 6 Preston 10.9 (69) Coburg 16.16 (112) Preston City Oval Coburg 43
7/8 15 Coburg 17.18 (120) Preston 7.9 (51) Coburg City Oval Coburg 69
1999 13/6 10 Preston 9.14 (68) Coburg-Fitzroy 14.2 (86) Preston City Oval Coburg-Fitzroy 18
2000 26/3 2 Northern Bullants 7.12 (54) Coburg-Fitzroy 23.21 (159) Preston City Oval Coburg-Fitzroy 105
2015 8/6 8 Coburg 10.5 (65) Preston 9.9 (63) Coburg City Oval Coburg 2
2016 22/5 7 Northern Blues 16.10 (106) Coburg 14.11 (95) Preston City Oval Northern Blues 11
2017 30/4 3 Coburg 11.13 (79) Northern Blues 21.15 (141) Coburg City Oval Northern Blues 62
10/6 8 Northern Blues 14.16 (100) Coburg 13.13 (91) Preston City Oval Northern Blues 9
2018 11/8 19 Northern Blues 15.6 (96) Coburg 12.8 (80) Preston City Oval Northern Blues 16
2019 9/6 13 Northern Blues 14.15 (99) Coburg 13.4 (82) Preston City Oval Northern Blues 17
2021 11/7 13 Coburg 12.10 (82) Northern Bullants 12.11 (83) Piranha Park Northern Bullants 1
2023 13/5 8 Coburg 12.8 (80) Northern Bullants 12.15 (87) Piranha Park Northern Bullants 7

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  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

[edit]
  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.