Battle of Bell Street

Battle of Bell Street

Coburg Northern Bullants
First meeting	7 June 1926 (Preston 69−112 Coburg)
Latest meeting	27 July 2025 (Northern 70−85 Coburg)
Next meeting	2026
Statistics
Meetings total	163
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

• Vicki Cleary Day
• Rivalries in the Victorian Football League

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. "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. 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. 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.