Most supporters or even casual acquaintances will be aware that the National Australia Bank have entered into a three-year agreement to become the major sponsor of the Northern Bullants Football Club.
That the NAB has agreed to take on this role with our club is of immense significance and prestige for both the TRUenergy VFL competition and the Northern Bullants. The NAB is well known for their massive support of the AFL pre-season competition, but it is a staggering achievement for the Northern Bullants to become the first individual club or sporting organization that they have ever sponsored.
Our mutual charter is one of support and involvement with the local community in the northern suburbs and is under-pinned by six local branches of the Bank. The agreement gives us access to NAB’s customers in the north and the opportunity of significant increases in our membership and game-day attendances. The NAB will have a NAB Mobile Mortgage Manager at all home games and we invite all members and supporters to ring the club on 9470-2224 to learn how the NAB can help you and, in turn, the Northern Bullants.
The NAB Northern Bullants continue to kick goals before the official season
start this weekend.
The club is pleased to announce the signing of Crazy John's as a Premier
Sponsor of the club for the next three years. The sponsorship is another great
indication of the club's efforts to create a real presence in
"It is so crucial to entice sponsors that fit in with the club's objectives
and we are delighted to have Crazy John's come on board along with the National
Australia Bank. These two iconic brands will help to further develop our
objective of promoting our club and VFL football in
As part of the agreement Crazy John's among other things will gain significant
exposure with signage at the NAB Bullants home and also help to drive a
Supporter's Choice Award for the NAB Northern Bullants.
With Crazy John's already having stores in
From the first round, the web site will feature a Lucky Draw with a one member each week winning a voucher for a free meal at any Nando's restaurant. All full and associate members are eligible. We are also sorting out the mechanics, but we will also be selecting at random one member each week to select best players and to receive a special award. More when we know what's happening (Crazy John's only came on board an hour before the newsletter was posted.
Official 2007 lists were by the Football Victoria last week. Links above are to both the Bullants list and that of our affiliate TAC club, the Northern Knights.
From the Bullant perspective, it was a difficult choice with about 15 to 20 players who had done most of the pre-season missing out. To those players, we extend our appreciation of your interest and wish you all the best wherever your football career takes you. To those who have made it, in a couple of cases at the second or third attempt, congratulations and we hope you enjoy your ride with the NAB Northern Bullants – which of course leads us to our next subject ...
Will be held at Rydges-On-Bell next Thursday evening from 8:00 p.m. We realise that mid-week isn’t ideal for some, but with doubts about the timing of this weekend’s practice match, we ran out of options – and besides, unless you have a fluffy white tail and a supply of colourful chocolate eggs, you get to sleep in next morning anyway!
This is an important evening to those of us who have followed pre-season training and a wonderful chance for everyone to come along and meet the players that have devoted their time over the summer months to make the final list and equally a chance to acknowledge the sacrifices of many parents who have given up their time to get youngsters to training with the Knights and other junior clubs. There will also be a small display of club memorabilia dating back to 1900 (unfortunately nothing between 1882 and 1899). $20 per head (free to player sponsors) covers admission and food platters – drinks available at bar prices.
As this is a catered event, bookings with the club on 9470 2224 or via email are essential.
Some solid rainfalls and even better still a few days apart have revived many grounds including our NAB Oval, which was improving anyway. Looking on the surface on Saturday evening, the Darebin Council’s decision to withhold permission for the proposed practice match may have been correct – there is a lot of new grass poking through that may not have survived 36 pairs of size 8 upwards boots for nearly four hours on Saturday afternoon.
NAB Oval should now be fine for round two, but some other venues are still doubtful and late switches may be on the cards. North Ballarat’s Austar Arena appears the hardest hit with their opening match against the Casey Scorpions swapped with the scheduled second round fixture, and three TAC Cup matches have been transferred away from Bendigo’s QE2 Oval. There has been nothing either official or unofficial forthcoming, but we believe the Coburg Cricket Club were due to hold a home final two weeks ago, but the Sub-District Association were forced to switch the match elsewhere, which perhaps raises some doubts on next weekend’s game.
A hectic VFL pre-season has meant we haven’t caught up with any Northern Knights practice matches, although we believe they have won all four that they have played. With a solid proportion of last years “underage” players (including we think four of their top six in the 2006 B&F), they look a formidable combination this year.
With the pressure on match venues, many TAC Cup matches are likely to be switched and such was the case on the weekend when the Knights match against the Dandenong Stingrays switched from NAB Oval to MC Labour Park, a decision made well over a week ago. The change of a home match made little difference as the Knights confirmed the opinion of rival coaches as the team to beat the season by pumping the Stingrays by 103 points after an even first quarter. Ruckman Matthew Kreutzer also showed why many consider him likely to be this year’s number one draft pick with a sparking round-the-ground performance
Congratulations to Jack Grimes, Luke Cotchin, Patrick Veszpremi and Luke Stanton on their selection in the squad to play an international series in South Africa later in the seaoson.
Youngie was of course with the Bullants in 2005 and 2006 and late last year
became the first player to be drafted as a mature age rookie when selected by
And while we are on the subject of rookies, let us state unequivocally our delight in the success of “Carlos”, Setenta o’Hailpin in the NAB Cup. We wondered and shook our heads many times over three years, but stood aghast on others at the level of sheer and raw athletic talent. Barry Mitchell’s mix of encouragement and occasional bagging (always with an apology and explanation) of the young man seems to come up “in spades” – and dare we say the younger Aisake is showing signs of following his next elder brother into the big time (Sean Ogg, where are you?).
Five matches against other VFL “combinations” for five wins is, we guess, a “plus”, but as always in the VFL pre-season, you can never be too sure exactly who you are playing against and, in turn, who you are playing with. (We suggest Ken Piesse of the Sunday Sun is old enough and ugly enough not to leave with the St. Kilda players at three-quarter time and then report “the Casey Scorpions had an easy win over the Northern Bullants”).
Last Saturday saw the Bullants post a solid 32 point win over the season’s first opponents, the Coburg Tigers. The Tigers led by three goals midway through the second term after making the ‘Ants look slow and cumbersome, but a predictable lift in intensity saw the Bullants take over, the only downside being a tally of 2.7 in the last term when the chance was there to bury the Tigers and establish a big psychological advantage for next week’s opener. Northern Bullants 15.15.(105) def. Coburg Tigers 10.13.(73). Jackson, Edwards, Young, Teague and McLaren were prominent from the Carlton side – two or three of the Bullant regulars were rested, but Boundy, Davies (returning from injury) and Vansittart showed up, the latter leaving the field early and we hope any recurrence of an on-going shoulder injury is minor.
We’ve yet to see captain Frankie Raso, David James (on the comeback trail after a severe knee injury in the first round of last season) and Victor Siciliano and three or four of the newer players, and from the Carlton list, the (unrelated) Anthony Raso, who for the third year in a row has had a badly interrupted pre-season. Rookie Sam Jacobs is working a wrist injury, and Clinton Benjamin made a brief and promising appearance against Geelong a fortnight ago but didn’t front last week despite being given special AFL permission to play.
The “Old Timer” from last month’s archive added a few more comments on football from the mid 1880’s in a later article, concentrating on a famous victory by the 1884 “newbies”, Williamstown over Geelong, the ultimate premiers . Those comments have been added to “More Rule Changes“, but the inference that players of the time were prone (as perhaps today) to force behinds was somewhat challenged in the 1889 season.
“Smoke nights “ were a significant source of income and a routine part of the season for the men - “ladies” were an integral part of the equally important annual concert – and many clubs awarded various prizes of pipe-related products, invariably involving gold or silver embellishment.
Late in the decade, the moderately-priced and thus highly fashionable
“cigarette” was introduced into Australia by the Stars and Stripes Cigarette Company, the
first to import the product from America.
Some hundred plus years later, it is a little difficult to assess
whether the tobacco company was interested in pure commercial promotion or
perhaps an altruistic motive in seeing an improvement to the rather defensive
local game. Either way, the company
introduce a one-off trophy in 1889 for “the Association club scoring the
fewest behinds in proportion to goals".
Whether the
Our Contribution to Culture (The Music) (The Colours)
A couple of supporters new to the Bullants have enquired about the words to
our club song (which doesn't say much for either our loudspeaker system or
player's singing voices. The song and a
brief history of the colours that
Still Not Susan, but the reality around what is very much a working-class footy club is that we will take all the help we can get, so if anyone can assist out by devoting some time as a volunteer, donating some of our day-to-day requirements or perhaps providing a highly competitive price while still making a dollar or two for yourself, let’s hear from you :
(added since last issue)
· a BBQ suitable for Bullants match days
· washer persons, someone to help with washing of socks, shorts and jumper (you may get sniff Teague’s tight shorts)
· printing and photocopying facilities
and from previous issues
· an Ice Maker
· match day volunteers,
· medical supplies - especially tape and bandages (costs us a small fortune)
· drinks, peanuts, lollies, chocolates (the old cry at the Saturday afternoon matinee), tea, coffee for the canteen. Or anything else suitable
· pasta or anything easily prepared for players meals post-Friday night training
· match day volunteers,
· a High-Low Physiotherapists table
· an Ultra-Sound machine
· match day volunteers,
· a digital camera for photographs of club functions and for promotional material (loved to have one last Saturday night)
· auction items – our Auction this year is planned for May, a couple of months earlier than normal,
· and (did we forget?), match day volunteers
Especially for our
General Manager
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Garry O’Sullivan |
Marketing Manager
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Quentin Aisbett 0421 502886 northernbullantsmarketing@bigpond.com |
Office Telephone
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9470 2224
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Office Fax
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9470 2059
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Email
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northernbullants@bigpond.com |
PFC Social Club
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9478 0823
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Web or 'Antz Pantz comments, subscriptions or unsubscriptions |
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bullant@mail.com
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