Preston Football Club
| Preston Football Club | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Names | ||||
| Full name | Preston Football Club Inc. | |||
| Former name(s) | Preston Juniors Football Club (1920s) Preston Knights Football Club (1996−1999) Northern Blues Football Club (2012−2020) Northern Bullants Football Club (2000−2011; 2021−2025) | |||
| Nickname(s) | Bullants, Tonners, Ants | |||
| Former nickname(s) | Knights, Blues, Prestonians | |||
| Club details | ||||
| Founded | 1882 | |||
| Colours | Red White | |||
| Premierships | VFA/VFL (D1) (4) VFA (D2) (2) VJFA (5) | |||
| Ground | Preston City Oval (1887−2025) | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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| Other information | ||||
| Official website | prestonfc.com.au | |||
The Preston Football Club, nicknamed the Bullants, is an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Preston. The club last competed in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and played its home games at Preston City Oval.
The club was established in 1882. After playing in junior competitions, the club first participated in senior football in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) between 1903 and 1911, and then again continuously since 1926. The team became known as the Bullants, and wore a plain red guernsey with a white monogram. Preston won four VFA premierships, with its periods of greatest success coming in the 1960s and 1980s.
Since the VFA changed to become the VFL in the 1990s, Preston competed as the Preston Knights from 1996 until 1999 in a partnership with the Northern Knights under-18s team; and then as the Northern Bullants starting in 2000. The club had a reserves affiliation with the Carlton Football Club from the Australian Football League (AFL) from 2003 until 2019; and from 2012 until 2019, the club adopted Carlton's identity to become the Northern Blues, wearing navy blue and white.
The reserves alignment ended in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the club operated as a stand-alone VFL club again as the Northern Bullants (2021–2025). Despite intending to return as the Preston Football Club the following year, the club had its VFL licence revoked at the end of the 2025 season, and was put into liquidation at the end of year.