Northern Bullants
The Northern Bullants are a semi-professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Victorian Football League (VFL). Based in Preston, the Bullants play their home games at the Preston City Oval.
| Northern Bullants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Names | ||||
| Full name | Preston Football Club Inc., trading as Northern Bullants Football Club Inc. | |||
| Former name(s) | Northern Blues Football Club (2012−2020) | |||
| Nickname(s) | Bullants, Tonners, Ants | |||
| Former nickname(s) | Knights, Blues | |||
| 2023 season | ||||
| Home-and-away season | 20th | |||
| Club details | ||||
| Founded | 1882 | |||
| Colours | Red White | |||
| Competition | Victorian Football League | |||
| Coach | Rohan Welsh | |||
| Captain(s) | Matthew King | |||
| Premierships | VFA/VFL (D1) (4) VFA (D2) (2) VJFA (5) | |||
| Ground(s) | Preston City Oval (10,000) | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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| Other information | ||||
| Official website | northernbullantsfc.com.au | |||
The club was established in 1882 as the Preston Football Club, the name which the club is still legally registered under. The club participated in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) between 1903 and 1911, and then since 1926. After World War II, the club was known as the Bullants, and wore a plain red guernsey with a white monogram. The club later became the Northern Bullants. It was affiliated with the Carlton Blues in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 2003 to 2020; and, from 2012 until 2020, the club adopted the colours and nickname of its AFL affiliate to become the Northern Blues. The alignment was terminated in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and, from 2021, the club again operated as a stand-alone VFL club under the Northern Bullants name.
The club has won four Division 1 premierships and two Division 2 premierships, all during its most successful period from the 1960s to the 1980s.