Battle of Bell Street
Australian rules football rivalry
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The Battle of Bell Street was an Australian rules football rivalry, contested by the Coburg Football Club[a] and the Preston Football Club[b] between 1926 and 2025.[3] It was one of the oldest rivalries in the Victorian Football League (VFL), which was known as the Victorian Football Association (VFA) until 1996.[4]
(Preston 69−112 Coburg)
(Northern 70−85 Coburg)
Northern: 81 wins Coburg: 79 winsThe clubs met 163 times, with Preston winning 81 times.[5] Preston's VFL licence was revoked at the end of the 2025 season, before the club entered voluntary liquidation several months later.[6]
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).[7]
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][8]
No match between the clubs occurred in the cancelled 2020 season, nor in the 2022 season.[9]
Notable matches
1973 relegation match
Heading into the final round of the 1973 VFA season, Preston were sitting in last place on the Division 1 ladder, although their percentage was slightly higher than Coburg's, who were in second-last place.[10] The teams faced each other in round 18, with the winner able to avoid relegation to Division 2 for the 1974 season.[10]
The lead changed eight times during the match, but Preston were able to win in part to Coburg's inaccuracy, with the Bullants kicking 7.2 to Coburg's 2.8 in the final quarter.[11] Coburg full-forward Shane McCarthy kicked five behinds, including missing several shots directly in front of goal, before kicking his only goal for the match.[11] Ultimately, Preston won the match 27.9 (171) to 22.22 (154), with Coburg relegated to Division 2.[12]
A crowd of 13,000 people attended the match at Coburg City Oval, which The Age reported was the largest crowd of the 1973 home-and-away season.[11][13]
Results
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 Jun | COB | 43 | +1 | |
| 2 | 15 | Coburg |
17.18 (120) | Preston |
7.9 (51) | Coburg City Oval | 7 Aug | COB | 69 | +2 | ||
| 3 | 1927 | 6 | Coburg |
13.22 (100) | Preston |
10.16 (76) | Coburg City Oval | 4 Jun | COB | 24 | +3 | |
| 4 | 15 | Preston |
13.21 (99) | Coburg |
22.7 (139) | Preston City Oval | 6 Aug | COB | 40 | +4 | ||
| 5 | 1928 | 1 | Preston |
7.15 (57) | Coburg |
11.12 (78) | Preston City Oval | 21 Apr | COB | 21 | +5 | |
| 6 | 10 | Coburg |
14.11 (95) | Preston |
6.11 (47) | Coburg City Oval | 23 Jun | COB | 48 | +6 | ||
| 7 | 1929 | 2 | Preston |
7.9 (51) | Coburg |
8.12 (60) | Preston City Oval | 27 Apr | COB | 9 | +7 | |
| 8 | 13 | Coburg |
10.13 (73) | Preston |
14.12 (96) | Coburg City Oval | 6 Jul | PRE | 23 | +6 | ||
| 9 | 1930 | 6 | Coburg |
11.14 (80) | Preston |
10.20 (80) | Coburg City Oval | 3 May | DRAW | 0 | +6 | |
| 10 | 13 | Preston |
17.10 (112) | Coburg |
11.11 (77) | Preston City Oval | 19 Jul | PRE | 35 | +5 | ||
| 11 | 19 | Preston |
9.15 (69) | Coburg |
13.13 (91) | Preston City Oval | 30 Aug | COB | 22 | +6 | ||
| 12 | 1931 | 2 | Preston |
13.16 (94) | Coburg |
14.7 (91) | Preston City Oval | 2 May | PRE | 3 | +5 | |
| 13 | 18 | Coburg |
6.11 (47) | Preston |
7.11 (53) | Coburg City Oval | 19 Jul | PRE | 6 | +4 | ||
| 14 | 1932 | 2 | Coburg |
13.12 (90) | Preston |
13.13 (91) | Coburg City Oval | 30 Apr | PRE | 1 | +3 | |
| 15 | SF | Coburg |
11.9 (75) | Preston |
8.20 (68) | Coburg City Oval | 10 Sep | COB | 7 | +4 | ||
| 1995 | 5 | Coburg |
13.9 (87) |  Preston |
18.13 (121) | Coburg City Oval | 21 May | PRE | 34 | |||
| 14 | Preston |
10.13 (73) | Coburg |
4.3 (27) | Preston City Oval | 30 Jul | PRE | 46 | ||||
| 1996 | 6 | Coburg |
15.9 (99) |  Preston |
8.19 (67) | Preston City Oval | 11 May | COB | 32 | |||
| 2000 | 2 |  Northern Bullants |
7.12 (54) | Coburg-Fitzroy |
23.21 (159) | Preston City Oval | 26 Mar | COB | 105 | |||
| 16 | Coburg-Fitzroy |
11.10 (76) | Northern Bullants |
17.9 (111) | Coburg City Oval | 9 Jul | NBLU | 35 | ||||
| 2014 | 13 |  Northern Blues |
9.15 (69) | Coburg |
12.6 (78) | Preston City Oval | 3 May | COB | 9 | |||
| 156 | 2018 | 19 |  Northern Blues |
15.6 (96) |  Coburg |
12.8 (80) | Preston City Oval | 11 Aug | NBLU | 16 | +3 | [14] |
| 157 | 2019 | 10 | Northern Blues |
14.15 (99) | Coburg |
13.4 (82) | Preston City Oval | 9 Jun | NBLU | 17 | +4 | [15] |
| N/a | 2020 | 12 | Coburg |
— | Northern Blues |
— | Highgate Reserve | 20 Jun | — | — | +4 | [16][17] |
| 158 | 2021 | 13 | Coburg |
12.10 (82) |  Northern Bullants |
12.11 (83) | Coburg City Oval | 11 Jul | NBUL | 1 | +5 | |
| 159 | 2023 | 8 | Coburg |
12.8 (80) | Northern Bullants |
12.15 (87) | Coburg City Oval | 13 May | NBUL | 7 | +6 | [18] |
| 160 | 2024 | 13 | Coburg |
10.12 (72) | Northern Bullants |
8.11 (59) | Coburg City Oval | 23 Jun | COB | 13 | +5 | [19] |
| 161 | 20 | Northern Bullants |
13.10 (88) | Coburg |
13.13 (91) | Preston City Oval | 11 Aug | COB | 3 | +4 | [20] | |
| 162 | 2025 | 8 | Coburg |
15.9 (99) | Northern Bullants |
10.9 (69) | Coburg City Oval | 18 May | COB | 30 | +3 | |
| 163 | 18 | Northern Bullants |
9.16 (70) |  Coburg |
13.7 (85) | Preston City Oval | 27 Jul | COB | 15 | +2 | [21] | |
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.[22]
Winners
See also
Notes
- Competed as Coburg-Fitzroy from 1999−2000; affiliated with the Richmond Football Club from 2001−2013.[1]
- Known as the Northern Bullants from 2000−2011 and 2021−2025; affiliated with the Carlton Football Club from 2003−2020; known as the Northern Blues from 2012−2020.[2]