Northern Bullants coach Josh Fraser reflects on journey to first VFL win

Almost lost to history, the Northern Bullants’ revival took a massive step forward on Sunday as the club secured its first VFL win since its return.

Jack Boyd celebrates a goal for Northern Bullants. Picture: Nathan McNeill

“It was a pretty special day at Preston”.

A little over 18 months after almost being relegated to the history books, the Northern Bullants are back in the VFL winners’ circle.

The historic club, revived by a group of committed faithful in the depths of lockdown last year, claimed its first win since returning as a standalone on Sunday and trigged an outpouring of emotion at Preston City Oval.

The 32-point win coming against Carlton, the club that dumped its alignment in 2020, almost ending the Bullants’ 139-year legacy.

Bullants coach Josh Fraser was one of many who worked tirelessly to keep the club afloat and spoke of the journey to Sunday’s breakthrough win.

It’s one win but given what this footy club has endured over the last 12 months it’s one to savour. Proud and happy for everyone who is connected in some way to the Ant’s. #AntsSpirit🐜🔴

— Josh Fraser (@jfraser17) June 27, 2021

“For the first time last night I reflected on that journey,” he said.

“The last 12 to 18 months there’s been a hell of a lot of work across many layers of the footy club to get it up and going again and keep it alive.

“To then put together a footy program, staff, implement a game plan and invest time into developing young talent, it’s been such a rewarding experience.

“The result, you get a brief moment to sit back and enjoy it, but I’ve been really proud of the way everybody has gone about it every week.

“That feeling of getting the result gives them the chance to reflect and enjoy the journey we’ve been on.”

Trailing by seven points at quarter-time, a five-goal burst in the second term gave the Bullants a five-point buffer at half-time – a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Northern Bullants coach Josh Fraser talks to his players. Picture: Nathan McNeill

Tom Wilson in action for Northern Bullants. Picture: Nathan McNeill

Daniel Hughes was named best-on-ground in the 14.16 (100) to 10.8 (68) win, while Will Mitchell, Tom Wilson, Tynan Smith (four goals), Sunny Brazier and Billy Murphy also impressed.

Mitchell finished with a team-high 28 disposals and seven tackles while Wilson, Murphy and Kye Quirk all finish with more than 20 touches.

Fraser said walking off the ground surrounding by cheering fans would be a special memory.

“That some something, walking off the ground to see a number of red and white scarfs and flags in the crowd, that was a great moment,” he said.

“I’ve had a lot of messages over night from people connected to the club past and present and I know how much it meant to them.

“It’s all about building a footy club, it’s new to all of us, I don’t think many people have undertaken this type of challenge before and it makes days like Sunday really significance.”

WINNERS ONCE AGAIN!

This has been a long time coming.

We are a club that is proud to stand alone + will NEVER roll over.#JoinTheMarchpic.twitter.com/RCz0eCgfwG

— Northern Bullants FC (@NBullantsFC) June 27, 2021

However, for the playing group and coaches the fact it came against the Blues meant little.

“It’s funny, you probably won’t believe me, but we never mentioned Carlton,” Fraser said.

“We didn’t mention Carlton in the lead up, it was about harnessing that last quarter against Frankston, reiterating the good things and putting together four quarters.

“For a lot of people that were associated at the Northern Blues, it might have meant more to them, but for us it was just a chance to get a result and it didn’t matter who it was against.”

Fraser said the group got together for a small celebration after the game but would be switch focus almost immediately.

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The Bullants face reigning VFL premier Richmond next week.

“They’re one of the yardsticks of the competition,” Fraser said.

“That’s the next challenge for our group is how to handle a win, you have to learn to win and then you have to learn how to handle a win.

“It’s a really great opportunity against a really good outfit in Richmond and it will challenge our boys to reproduce a lot of what we saw (on Sunday) and find areas we need to be better at.”