Battle of Bell Street

Battle of Bell Street
Coburg
Northern Bullants
First meeting7 June 1926
(Preston 69−112 Coburg)
Latest meeting27 July 2025
(Northern 70−85 Coburg)
Next meeting2026
Statistics
Meetings total163
All-time series (seniors only) Northern: 81 wins
 Coburg: 79 wins

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][4]

The clubs have met 163 times as July 2025, with the Bullants winning 81 times since the first clash in 1926.[5]

History

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).[6]

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.[5][7]

No match between the clubs occurred in the cancelled 2020 season, nor in the 2022 season.[8]

Matches

Seniors

# Year Rd Home Away Ground Date Winner M H2H Ref
Team Score Team Score
1 1926 6 Preston 10.9 (69) Coburg 16.16 (112) Preston City Oval 5 June Coburg 43 +1
2 15 Coburg 17.18 (120) Preston 7.9 (51) Coburg City Oval 7 August Coburg 69 +2
3 1927 6 Coburg 13.22 (100) Preston 10.16 (76) Coburg City Oval 4 June Coburg 24 +3
4 15 Preston 13.21 (99) Coburg 22.7 (139) Preston City Oval 6 August Coburg 40 +4
5 1928 1 Preston 7.15 (57) Coburg 11.12 (78) Preston City Oval 21 April Coburg 21 +5
6 10 Coburg 14.11 (95) Preston 6.11 (47) Coburg City Oval 23 June Coburg 48 +6
7 1929 2 Preston 7.9 (51) Coburg 8.12 (60) Preston City Oval 27 April Coburg 9 +7
8 13 Coburg 10.13 (73) Preston 14.12 (96) Coburg City Oval 6 July Preston 23 +6
9 1930 6 Coburg 11.14 (80) Preston 10.20 (80) Coburg City Oval 3 May Drawn 0 +6
10 13 Preston 17.10 (112) Coburg 11.11 (77) Preston City Oval 19 July Preston 35 +5
11 19 Preston 9.15 (69) Coburg 13.13 (91) Preston City Oval 30 August Coburg 22 +6
12 1931 2 Preston 13.16 (94) Coburg 14.7 (91) Preston City Oval 2 May Preston 3 +5
13 18 Coburg 6.11 (47) Preston 7.11 (53) Coburg City Oval 19 July Preston 6 +4
14 1932 2 Coburg 13.12 (90) Preston 13.13 (91) Coburg City Oval 30 April Preston 1 +3
15 SF Coburg 11.9 (75) Preston 8.20 (68) Coburg City Oval 10 September Coburg 7 +4
1995 5 Coburg 13.9 (87) Preston 18.13 (121) Coburg City Oval 21 May Preston 34
14 Preston 10.13 (73) Coburg 4.3 (27) Preston City Oval 30 July Preston 46
1996 6 Coburg 15.9 (99) Preston 8.19 (67) Preston City Oval 11 May Coburg 32
2000 2 Northern Bullants 7.12 (54) Coburg-Fitzroy 23.21 (159) Preston City Oval 26 March Coburg 105
16 Coburg-Fitzroy 11.10 (76) Northern Bullants 17.9 (111) Coburg City Oval 9 July Northern 35
2014 13 Northern Blues 9.15 (69) Coburg 12.6 (78) Preston City Oval 3 May Coburg 9
156 2018 19 Northern Blues 15.6 (96) Coburg 12.8 (80) Preston City Oval 11 August Northern 16 +3 [9]
157 2019 10 Northern Blues 14.15 (99) Coburg 13.4 (82) Preston City Oval 9 June Northern 17 +4 [10]
— 2020 12 Coburg — Northern Blues — Highgate Reserve 20 June — — +4 [11][12]
158 2021 13 Coburg 12.10 (82) Northern Bullants 12.11 (83) Coburg City Oval 11 July Northern 1 +5
159 2023 8 Coburg 12.8 (80) Northern Bullants 12.15 (87) Coburg City Oval 13 May Northern 7 +6 [13]
160 2024 13 Coburg 10.12 (72) Northern Bullants 8.11 (59) Coburg City Oval 23 June Coburg 13 +5 [14]
161 20 Northern Bullants 13.10 (88) Coburg 13.13 (91) Preston City Oval 11 August Coburg 3 +4 [15]
162 2025 8 Coburg 15.9 (99) Northern Bullants 10.9 (69) Coburg City Oval 18 May Coburg 30 +3
163 18 Northern Bullants 9.16 (70) Coburg 13.7 (85) Preston City Oval 27 July Coburg 15 +2 [16]

Harold Martin Medal

Since 2021, the Harold Martin Medal has been awarded to the player judged best on ground in the Battle of Bell Street. It is named after Harold Martin, who was the captain-coach of Preston before moving to Coburg as its coach in 1982.[17]

Winners

Year Rd Winner Ref
2021 13 Daniel Hughes [18]
2023 8 Cam Wild [13]
2024 13 Deacon Kalpakis [14]
20 Joel Trudgeon [19]
2025 8 Jack Bytel [20]
18 Sam Donegan [21]

See also

Notes

  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

  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. ^ Amy, Paul (24 July 2025). "VFL: Northern Bullants and Coburg face off in most meaningful Battle of Bell St in years". CODE Sports. Archived from the original on 26 July 2025. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Old foes set for Battle of Bell Street". afl.com.au. 11 May 2023.
  6. ^ McCormick, Michael (8 June 2015). "Blues fall short in Battle of Bell Street". Carlton Football Club.
  7. ^ "1926 VFA Premiership Season". Australian Football.
  8. ^ "2022 VFL fixture: Round one locked in, remaining match-ups confirmed". afl.com.au. 22 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Northern Blues 15.6-96 def. 12.8-80 Coburg". GameDay. VFL / VFLW. 11 August 2018. Archived from the original on 3 August 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  10. ^ "Northern Blues 14.15-99 def. 13.4-82 Coburg". GameDay. VFL / VFLW. 9 June 2019. Archived from the original on 3 August 2025. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
  11. ^ Filippo, Cristian (18 December 2019). "2020 VFL fixture announced". Carlton Football Club. Archived from the original on 6 November 2022. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  12. ^ "Coburg vs Northern Blues". GameDay. VFL / VFLW. 20 June 2024. Archived from the original on 29 November 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  13. ^ a b Rhodes, Brendan (15 May 2023). "REVIEW: Smithy's VFL Round 8". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 July 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  14. ^ a b Rhodes, Brendan (24 June 2024). "REVIEW: Smithy's VFL Round 13". AFL.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 July 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  15. ^ "Australian Football - Match Details: 2024 R20 Northern Bullants vs Coburg". australianfootball.com. Retrieved 2025-03-12.
  16. ^ "Northern Bullants v Coburg Lions". AFL.com.au. 27 July 2025. Archived from the original on 28 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
  17. ^ Amy, Paul (20 June 2024). "'Tribalism on steroids': Inside Coburg v Northern Bullants, the mighty Battle of Bell Street". CODE Sports. Archived from the original on 27 July 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  18. ^ Kelly, Daniel (11 May 2022). "PFC Returns Home". Northern Bullants. Archived from the original on 22 March 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  19. ^ Amy, Paul [@PaulAmy375] (11 August 2024). "And Lion Joel Trudgeon wins the Harold Martin Medal as best-afield" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 27 July 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ "Lions Roar at Barry Plant Park as Bytel Claims Harold Martin Honours". Coburg Football Club. 22 May 2025. Archived from the original on 22 May 2025. Retrieved 27 July 2025.
  21. ^ Amy, Paul [@PaulAmy375] (28 July 2025). "Forgot to mention that Northern Bullant Sam Donegan won the Harold Martin medal as best-afield in the Battle of Bell Street" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 28 July 2025. Retrieved 28 July 2025 – via Twitter.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.