VFL: Northern Bullants and Coburg face off in most meaningful Battle of Bell St in years

Almost a century after their first clash, bitter rivals Northern Bullants and Coburg are preparing for their most crucial Battle of Bell St in years.

Bitter rivals Coburg and Northern Bullants are preparing to renew hostilities. Picture: Hamish Blair

The season’s second Battle of Bell Street between the Northern Bullants and Coburg finds the Ants talking finals.

Huh?

They have only two wins and are holding up the 21-team VFL ladder ahead of Sunday’s clash at Cramer St.

“It’s a final for us, because if we beat them it gets us off the bottom – we would jump over Sandringham,’’ new Bullants president Neil Howard was saying on Wednesday.

“We don’t want to finish there again. It’s a very important game for us, more so because it’s against Coburg.’’

The match also finds Coburg still with a whiff of finals, despite last Sunday’s disappointing loss to out-of-the-running Werribee at City Oval.

The Burgers have won seven games but need to win at least 10 to qualify for a finals wildcard; they must defeat the Bullants, Brisbane and Port Melbourne in their next three games and hope other results fall their way. Luck will have to accompany their customary pluck.

Matches between the Bullants and Lions are promoted as the Battle of Bell Street in recognition of the road that separates them, 3.7km apart in Melbourne’s north.

Northern Bullants GM and former Coburg coach Peter German.

The clubs first played each other in 1926.

The way Howard sees it, a rivalry born of proximity deepened when Preston great Harold Martin “crossed the floor’’ and joined Coburg as coach in 1981.

“That’s when it got ugly,’’ he said. “I’m serious. When he left Preston, it became bitter. I remember one day at Coburg when (Phil) Cleary ruffled the feathers of Martin right in the centre of the ground, and Martin picked him up. Cleary’s feet were off the ground!’’

The player judged best-afield in Sunday’s game will receive the Harold Martin Medal.

Martin, 75, lives on the Gold Coast and won’t be at Cramer St to present it, but he will be tracking the scores.

He said he was expecting a close game, “because most of them tend to be like that’’.

Perhaps the clubs’ most famous match was in 1973, when Preston defeated to Coburg to stay in first division and condemn the Lions to relegation.

Emerging Coburg defender Deacon Kalpakis. Picture: Craig Dooley

Martin said the crowd at City Oval that day was “enormous’’.

“Right through the 1970s and ‘80s, the rivalry was huge,’’ he said.

“Because they were so close together, I knew people in Preston who followed Coburg and there were people who lived in Coburg who followed Preston.’’

Martin calls himself a “Preston man’’ but he enjoyed his time with the Lions and has often attended their reunions.

He made another point about the Bullants and Burgers: “There’s respect there.’’

“Once you get on the field it’s a different kettle of fish,’’ he said.

“When it’s all over, there’s undoubtedly respect.’’

VFA great Harold Martin.

Martin in the old Preston jumper in 1980.

Bullants general manager Peter German said the Battle of Battle Street gained “more merit’’ when both clubs returned to so-called “stand-alone’’ status.

That happened for the Bullants in 2021 and for Coburg in 2014.

It just so happened that German, one of the country’s most respected state league coaches, steered the Burgers in their return as Coburg Lions (aligned with Richmond, they had been Coburg Tigers).

He believes Coburg’s improvement since a winless 2023 season should serve as an example to the Bullants.

“We’re still trying to make our mark, there’s no doubt about it,’’ he said.

“Coburg have started to do that this year. So what we can do is take a bit of inspiration from them … not winning a game two years ago to now pushing for a finals spot. We liken ourselves to Coburg – no revenue from pokies, community feel, doing it the hard way – but we still have that desire to have the upper hand.

“Our playing list is similar to our club. We’ve got to try to get stability. We need to have at least half our team having played 30, 40 games. At the moment we’ve only got three or four. A lot of our players have only got 10 games, but even in those 10 games you can see they’re starting to gain some confidence and belief.’’

Max Kennedy is a key player for the Lions. Picture: Craig Dooley

The Bullants suffered a series of thumping defeats in the first half of the season before their breakthrough win over Sydney in Round 15.

A week later they caused jaws to drop when they flashed home to toss Williamstown in perhaps the biggest upset in the VFL this century.

Last Sunday they were no match for a Frankston team that impressed German with its ping off half back and speedy ball movement to a classy collection of forwards.

Still, for a side that lost to Carlton by 86 points in Round 12, two out of three ain’t bad at all for the Ants.

German said it was testament to the resilience of the coaches and players that they were competing strongly in the late exchanges of the season.

Josh Hamilton celebrates his match-sealing goal for the Northern Bullants against Sydney.

He said it had been a difficult year for the club and coach Rohan Welsh, who suffered a severe leg infection before Round 1 and then was bizarrely stood down over a verbal clash with former vice-president Vas Nikolovski.

“Rohan’s had some trials and tribulations … he’s had to go through a fair bit this year … so for him to stay focused and keep the players on track has been a credit to him,’’ German said.

“His football knowledge is as good as I’ve seen at this level.’’

The loss to Werribee left Coburg six points away from the top ten. Club GM Nick Byrne said the Lions could still make it, but he was thinking only of the Battle of Bell Street.

“We’re not looking further than Sunday,’’ he said.

“It’s a big occasion for us and always has been. It’s a game we really want to win. It’s a game we need to win. It’s that simple.’’

Coburg won the Round 8 Battle of Bell Street by five goals after leading at three-quarter time by one point.

Sunday’s match starts at 2.05pm.

Originally published as VFL: Northern Bullants and Coburg face off in most meaningful Battle of Bell St in years