Ben Hart is excited by what the Northern Bullants can achieve in 2022
The Northern Bullants had just three months and no training base before the 2021 VFL season, new coach Ben Hart is looking forward to seeing what the club can achieve in 2022.
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Tom Wilson, Daniel Hughes, Tynan Smith, Mutaz El Nour, Jack Boyd, Liam Mackie, Josh Fraser.
There were plenty of good stories when it came to the Northern Bullants in 2021 and new coach Ben Hart expects even more to emerge in 2022.
This time last year the historic VFA/VFL club didn’t have a single contracted player.
Now, after an inspiring return season that netted three wins, the club has a stable playing list and full pre-season to prepare.
“There were (some good stories) and they’ll continue to grow as well, all those guys are really passionate about the Bullants,” Hart said.
“With the ability to play a full season too, you’ll see more of these young fellas jumping out.
“We’re a build, a work in progress, a young group.
“We only had three months of footy so the ability to play together and train together more and more is going to benefit us pretty quickly.
“We’ll never set a bar of where we want to get to in terms of wins and loses but if we continue to show improvement, that’s what we’re about.”
Wilson claimed the Bullants’ Laurie Hill Trophy ahead of Hughes and Mackie, El Nour got some draft buzz after just six VFL games, Boyd took undoubtedly Mark of the Year and Smith, the club’s leading goalkicking has matured into a leader.
For his hard work Fraser earned an opportunity at Collingwood as a development coach and the Bullants had no hesitation handing the reins to Hart.
The two-time AFL premiership player, Australian Football Hall of Famer and long-time AFL assistant coach helped build the club from the grassroots.
This will be his first senior coaching role.
“It’s one thing I’ve never done, actually take my own side, I got involved in assistant coaching straight out of playing and that’s been my journey so far,” Hart said.
“I’ve always had ambitions to do it, the opportunity has now come up and I’m loving every minute of it.
“I was pretty lucky last year, after all the COVID fallout in the AFL, to come back to Melbourne and Fraz reached out to come and help out.
“Building the club again, from the grassroots, was a lot of fun, it’s a great group of boys and the board is strong.
“It will be similar (to what Fraser did) but there will be things that I’ll do differently.
“I don’t think there’ll a major overhaul to be honest, we’re about connection with the club, our teammates, with the community and that’s really strong in Preston and something I want to keep driving.”
One of the major hurdles facing the Bullants last pre-season was a lack of training venue.
With Preston City Oval off limits during the cricket season the club faced an almost nightly battle to find somewhere to train.
Not so this time.
In another major boost to the club’s rebuild, Parade College in Bundoora will be home over the summer months.
The Bullants are able to train three times a week and even held a pre-season combine for aspiring young players from the region to try out in the hopes of earning a VFL opportunity.
Hart believes the club will be well advanced in its preparations come Round 1, 2022.
“Our pre-season training was at different ovals every night (last year) and often the decision was made that morning where we’d train,” he said.
“To come here to Parade College and have a home base for the whole pre-season is brilliant for our guys and the facilities are fabulous.
“We’re a long way ahead because we don’t have to worry about jumping around everywhere and we’ve been able to hand pick our list – we can now say these are the guys we’re interesting in building this club around.
“Our retention rate has been really strong.
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“We’ve still got a few spots to fill on the primary list plus some development list players as well.
“We’re pretty excited about (our group) and if we can add some others I think we’ll hold ourselves in good stead.”
Former GWS and North Melbourne midfielder Paul Ahern is the only major departure at this stage, deciding to return to his junior club Pascoe Vale for the 2022 EDFL season.
The Bullants are in talks to a number of players following the AFL Draft and hope to strengthen their list ahead of next season.
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