Preston Bullants breakthrough for impressive initial victory

Hugh Maclean

They told the Preston Bullants after their 2019 grand final victory that the step up from Division 1 to Premier C would be difficult. They just didn’t say it would be that tough…

After the 2020 season was completely lost, the Bullants took to the field eleven times the following year and didn’t sing the song once.  Whilst seriously challenged after opening up a handy half time lead against UHS-VU in round one of 2022, the Premier C duck was broken after Preston hung on to win by a solitary point.

Preston had started 2019 having won only two matches from their first six.  They came home with a wet sail from there, winning week after week until they finally triumphed on the last day of the season, leading the Students all day before winning the grand final by ten points.

“The influence of Fred Lehmann can’t be downplayed in 2019”, stated club president Jon Carter.  “He played a big part as fitness coach under Sheedy in Essendon’s glory years, and he looked after our fitness in 2019”.

Fred wasn’t there to reprise his role in 2021, and the difference was palpable. Hard as the coaching group tried, the training schedule was different and the level of fitness fell away from the manic levels of 2019.  As a result, in contrast to 2019 where the club didn’t lose a second half between round six and the grand final, the Bullants found themselves tiring in matches in 2021.

Fast forward to 2022, and so much has changed at Ruthven Reserve. There’s a new coach, several new committee members, and a new playing group with up to 26 players lost over the off-season. It’s a young squad, and with it comes enthusiasm and optimism.

“A lot of blokes just hit that 28-30 year old wall”, said Jon Carter, musing that many of the group that had served through the last three years had other things that they needed to be doing that didn’t involve football.

“There’s not too much wrong with the culture here. We only had two requests for clearances.  The numbers just fell away as blokes had other priorities”.

The new Bullants started the season against their old mates UHS-VU at Ruthven Reserve, and immediately the spark and the vigour of this young group was there for all to see.  Preston were able to kick five goals without a miss in the first quarter, and extended the goal tally by three in the second term, while holding the University boys goalless to go to oranges with a five goal break.

Still, as if the ghosts of 2021 were determined to haunt the halls of the Preston boys, UHS-VU began to run all over Preston in the third stanza. UHS kicked four goals and held Preston to just two points, and the Bullants were thankful of some poor kicking by the Students which meant that scores were level turning for home.

It is a point of debate how much is physical, and how much psychological.  Whatever the mix of influence, however, this Preston side were determined not to be overrun like their predecessors of 2021 so often were.

Wherever there was thrust from UHS, there would be parries from the Bullants. And while the two combatants went goal-for-goal in the final quarter, one of them was destined to be in the ascendency when the final bell rang.

That side was Preston, and that by one solitary point. The monkey had been extracted from the back.

“There were people in tears in the dressing rooms”, remarked Jon Carter. “We had UHS on the ropes at half-time last year, but they ran over the top of us. We weren’t to be denied this time around”.

The Preston Bullants of 2022 is a club united. All the players train together; from the senior men through the senior women to the under 19s. They are super fit and totally committed.  Their stock-in-trade is their speed and agility, albeit that they may take a little time to get used to the game plan.

Still, the feeling around the club is that if they can stay free from injury they will be a lot more competitive than they were twelve months ago. The Bullants have recorded their initial victory, and still they have half a dozen players to come back that they feel will contend for places in their best 22.

They have the bye this week, followed by a big test against the high flying Monash Blues.  Who is to say that these young bucks can’t make even more noise when next on the playing field?