‘Dire’: the battle to save historic Victorian club Northern Bullants

In a campaign to be called “Don’t Stomp On The Bullant’’, volunteers will rattle tins on the streets of Preston and surrounding suburbs in September as a new administration tries to drag the Ants out of financial trouble.

No figure has been put on the debt but Melbourne barrister Howard – who took over as president last month – said it was manageable.

He met the AFL last week to discuss the Bullants’ plight and is confident they will retain their VFL licence.

Next year the club will revert to its original name of Preston. Howard will inform ex-Ants of the move at this Sunday’s past players’ day at the Cramer St ground.

“Dire would be an apt word,’’ he said when asked about the state of the Ants.

“In saying that, we’ve been able to identify and repay some long-outstanding financial debts.

“We have had some revenue raised. We’ve gone to our sponsorship group and commenced a proper relationship rather than just sending them an invoice and holding a hand out for money.

“We have developed rapports despite the fact we’re well into the season.’’

He said the AFL was “disappointed’’ at what had gone on at the club with a board that Howard said was “uniquely fractured’’ and “barely had a quorum to survive on’’.

The club will hold a special general meeting next Monday night to endorse a new board with nine directors.

Howard said the proposed board members had a “really good skill-set’’ and would work in with the Northern Knights, the Preston Bullants juniors and the senior VAFA club, and the Darebin Falcons.

He said the club would be starting 2026 in September.

“We need to go to the AFL and say, ‘This really is our projection of revenue for 2026, this is what we believe we can acquire through sponsorship, membership, merchandise, event, canteen’,’’ he said.

“We’ve already got seven or eight memberships which want to be involved in a coteries group and we’ve got 15 presidents’ membership sold already.

“We can see the promise in all of that. We can see the promise in embracing the local community.’’

The Bullants have about 870 members but Howard said “an element’’ came from a tie-in with Melbourne Polytechnic.

The club has had a number of name changes in the past three decades, most notably when they became known as Northern Blues in 2011 to reflect their alignment with Carlton.

The AFL club withdrew from the alliance early in 2020, leaving Northern Blues president Steve Papal to declare the club’s days were done.

“To see our football club unable to continue its operations is as difficult as it gets,” Papal said.

“I can say nothing more but express my eternal gratitude to every player, coach, administrator, sponsor, member and supporter that has be part of the Northern Blues Football Club and kept us going year after year.

“Our history extends 138 years and we are proud of each and every one of those seasons. This football club has a rich history and we will do everything possible to ensure it remains in the hearts and minds of our supporters forever.’’

But later in the year Papal and others resurrected the club as Northern Bullants and they resumed playing when the VFL came out of Covid in 2021.

Since then the Ants have struggled on and off the ground, scraping together only eights win.

This year they have suffered a succession of 100-point defeats.

Howard – whose father, Claude, captained Preston – said the Bullants could take heart from their Battle of Bell Street rival Coburg, which went winless in 2023 but two years later is in finals contention.

“I was just saying to Peter German (club general manager), next year’s not about making the four, it’s about getting some credit and credibility back,’’ he said.

“I’ve said the mantra around the club should revolve around transparency, accountability and positivity, and that’s to flow from us to the players.’’

Howard said the Bullants were worth saving.

“I genuinely love the club. Even to encounter disappointment after disappointment after disappointment, I walk out of there still buoyant,’’ he said.