# Preston Bullants Amateur Football Club

The Preston Bullants Amateur Football Club (Preston AFC or PBAFC), formerly known as the Northern Bullants and later the Northern Blues, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Preston.
Preston is a separate entity to the Northern Bullants, a club in the Victorian Football League (VFL), however the two clubs share a logo and maintain close links. Preston is also linked to the Preston Bullants Junior Football Club (PBJFC), which competes in the Yarra Junior Football League (YJFL).
The club's men's team currently competes in Division 1 of the Victorian Amateur Football Association (VAFA), while the women's team is currently in Division 3 of the VAFA Women's competition.

## History

In late 2008, following a YJFL Colts premiership, a number of parents of junior players at PBJFC announced the formation of a new senior club − known as the Northern Bullants − to allow a pathway for players once they passed the junior football age. The club joined the VAFA for the 2009 season in Division 1 of the under-18s competition. However, the team folded at the end of the 2010 season.
The club resumed playing in 2011, fielding an under-19s team in Division 3. That team continued in 2012 alongside a new team in the Premier B Thirds competition. The club was also renamed to the Northern Blues, although it retained its red and white colours.
On 30 October 2012, the VAFA announced the Blues would field a senior team for the first time in 2013, entering Division 4. The club defeated Eley Park in the Grand Final later that year, and was promoted to Division 3 for 2014, where they went back-to-back with a premiership over Richmond Central.
In 2016, the club was renamed to the Preston Bullants and defeated St John's in the Division 2 grand final.
Preston introduced a women's team in 2018, coached by former Darebin mayor Vince Fontana. The women's team won the Division 3 Grand Final in 2019, and the men's team won the Division 1 Grand Final the same year.
The Bullants did not win a game in the 2021 season, which was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however the club declined relegation. At the end of the season, inaugural coach George Wakim stepped down and was replaced by under-19s coach George Cotsonis. The club's first win in 931 days came in round 1 of the 2022 season against UHS-VU, the club they defeated in the 2019 grand final. However, this would be Preston's only win in 2022, and the club would be relegated to Division 1 for the 2023 season.
Cotsonis departed as senior coach in June 2023, and was replaced by Tom Hill, a former Greater Western Sydney and Western Bulldogs-listed player. The club ultimately avoided relegation for the 2024 season as part of the VAFA's aim to keep all divisions at 10 teams each.

### VFL links

Although they are separate entities, Preston AFC maintains close links with the Northern Bullants, who compete as a standalone side in the VFL. Both clubs use the same logo, colours and jumper design, and the Northern Bullants were also known as the Northern Blues from 2012 until 2020.
A number of players have played for both Preston AFC and the Northern Bullants, including many who played for the Northern Bullants in the VFL Development League before that competition was disbanded in 2017.
In 2022, Preston AFC became the first VAFA club to play a curtain-raiser for a VFL club, with the senior women's side hosting Parkside at Preston City Oval before the VFL game between the Northern Bullants and Carlton.

## Seasons

Source:
| Premiers | Grand Finalist | Minor premiers | Finals appearance | Wooden spoon |

### Men's
#### Seniors

| Year | Division | Finish | W | L | D | Coach | Captain | Best and fairest | Leading goalkicker | Ref |
| 2013 | Division 4 | 6th | 8 | 8 | 0 | George Wakim | Todd Beames; Dean Calcedo | | | |
| 2014 | Division 3 | 1st | 14 | 4 | 0 | George Wakim | Todd Beames; Dean Calcedo | | Damon Marcon | 58 |
| 2015 | Division 2 | 4th | 12 | 6 | 0 | George Wakim | | Dean Calcedo | Lachlan McRedmond | 61 |
| 2016 | Division 2 | 3rd | 13 | 3 | 0 | George Wakim | Jay Phelan | | Damon Marcon | 37 |
| 2017 | Division 1 | 5th | 11 | 7 | 0 | George Wakim | | | | |
| 2018 | Division 1 | 6th | 9 | 9 | 0 | George Wakim | | | Conor Howard | 23 |
| 2019 | Division 1 | 1st | 13 | 4 | 1 | George Wakim | Sean Calcedo | | Jack Sammartino | 50 |
| 2020 | Premier C | (No season) | (No season) | (No season) | (No season) | George Wakim | Sean Calcedo | (No season) | (No season) | (No season) |
| 2021 | Premier C | 10th | 0 | 11 | 0 | George Wakim | Sean Calcedo | Patrick Vanin | Jackson Curic | 22 |
| 2022 | Premier C | 11th | 1 | 19 | 0 | George Cotsonis | James King | Rory Howard | Ethan Lowe | 22 |
| 2023 | Division 1 | 9th | 3 | 15 | 0 | George Cotsonis; Tom Hill | James King | | Paddy Davies | 27 |
| 2024 | Division 1 | 7th | 7 | 10 | 1 | Tom Hill | Tom Hill | | Alex Johnston | 28 |

### Women's
#### Seniors

| Year | Division | Finish | W | L | D | Coach | Captain | Best and fairest | Leading goalkicker | Ref |
| 2018 | Division 3 | 1st | 11 | 3 | 0 | Vince Fontana | Binny Grainger | Jacara Egan | Jacara Egan | 14 |
| 2019 | Division 3 | 2nd | 12 | 2 | 0 | Vince Fontana | | | Melanie Cook | 20 |
| 2020 | Division 2 | (No season) | (No season) | (No season) | (No season) | Doug Hamilton | | (No season) | (No season) | (No season) |
| 2021 | Division 3 | 7th | 1 | 9 | 0 | Doug Hamilton | Kaitlin Pike | Kaitlin Pike | | |
| 2022 | Division 3 | 6th | 6 | 8 | 0 | Doug Hamilton | Binny Grainger; Shannon Gore | | Shannon Gore | 10 |
| 2023 | Division 4 | 3rd | 7 | 7 | 1 | Siobhan O'Dwyer | | | Shannon Gore | 19 |
| 2024 | Division 3 | 9th | 4 | 12 | 0 | Shannon Gore | Brenna Edsell | | | |