FROM little things big things grow.

And big things are growing quickly at Preston City Oval from the smallest seed, as the Northern Bullants came from football oblivion to not only get on the park in 2021, but be competitive in all but one of their 10 games and record three victories.

They were three wins nobody outside the club could have seen coming, especially after the record-equalling 160-point belting from Werribee in round six.

But coach Josh Fraser said it provided some great lessons after a difficult start to the year in which the Bullants had played four of the competition’s top six in Williamstown, Box Hill, Footscray and Geelong.

While from the outside it was an inauspicious start at 0-5 and bottom of the ladder, Fraser implored footy fans to dig a little deeper.

“It was a challenging year in many respects with the COVID stuff, but a really rewarding one,” he said.

“You have to get a deep understanding of where we’ve come from, effectively starting the club again from scratch, building a footy department and a playing list, and we were always behind other clubs because we had to put so much work into getting another licence.

“We were probably considered by many not to win a game and be the easybeats, but we became incredibly competitive and to get some results was incredibly important.”

Those results came through the middle of the season and, in hindsight, it appeared the first lockdown of the season after that Werribee wipeout was a godsend as the Bullants learned their lessons over four weeks.

And while they were 50 points behind Frankston at three quarter-time on their return, the wheel was turning.

Five goals to one in the final term that night gave the Bullants belief, and they backed it up with a stunning upset of Carlton, 15 months after the Blues had ended their almost 20-year alignment.

They backed it up with an even more remarkable win over reigning premier Richmond and an epic one-point triumph over Coburg in the Battle of Bell Street.

Perhaps just as impressive was the return match against Werribee – the Bullants had the first 11 scoring shots, and while they were eventually run down, it put an exclamation mark on just how far they had come.

Fraser said the results came on the back of pure and simple hard work – the mantra adopted by all at Cramer Street.

"One of the great things about our playing group and our footy club in many respects, and we set this agenda early on in pre-season, was that we were going to be a club that fought and scratched for everything we got," Fraser said.

"We had to embrace change and adapt – we never had a consistent training base (in pre-season), we had our own challenges with building a list, staffing a footy program, re-establishing relationships, getting memberships, finding corporate support.

"Going back through the years of the Preston Footy Club that’s what the club is built off, the blue collar, roll your sleeves up work ethic and that’s what we instilled into our playing group.

"Our players deserve a lot of credit for buying into that and it let us have a couple of really good results."

While the wins were as fantastic as they were unexpected outside the club, Fraser said there was still another moment that stood head and shoulders above them all.

"Seeing the jumper running around again on Preston City Oval, connecting the footy club as quickly as we did was another highlight – we have great people at the footy club all invested in the journey and the Preston plan," he said.

"The wins are a clear highlight, but I was equally as proud of our players when we didn’t win some of those games.

"You've got to keep perspective of where we've come from and the resilience we showed to keep backing up each week and keep trying to get better."

On the field, skipper Tom Wilson provided the highest quality of leadership after missing most of 2019 at the Northern Blues with a knee injury.

Vice-captain Glenn Strachan provided great leadership alongside Aspley recruit Doug Lawrence as they helped the impressive Mutaz El Nour, while ruckman Danny Hughes, Paul Ahern, Tim Jones, Will Mitchell and Sunny Brazier provided a gutsy midfield, and Billy Murphy, Tynan Smith, Jack Boyd and Jean-Luc Velissaris gave them something to kick to up forward – all players Fraser couldn’t have more praise for.

"Paul Ahern was a really solid contributor and Billy Murphy just continued to get better as the season wore on," the coach said.

"Tynan Smith was a player his teammates loved playing with because he just provided so much team-first and spirit, and Tim Jones through the midfield had a really solid season – he was a really important player for us and Sunny Brazier became an important player.

"Jack Boyd is going to be a player to watch, he has some attributes that if he keeps developing he’s going to have a bright future, and Mutaz El Nour in the backline, for another young kid playing his first year of VFL footy, he showed some signs.

"It's really hard to individualise because every player showed a degree of improvement."

Mitchell forced his way into the team mid-season and was a huge catalyst for the revival.

"He was pretty close for a number of weeks, but we were really happy with our midfield mix so he had to earn his spot and it’s a credit to him because he went back and played some really consistent footy for Old Carey," Fraser said.

"His numbers were impressive when he came in but the growth for him was how he was playing and how much he was working with our midfielders around stoppages – that was the area we wanted him to grow and to his credit he did that."

Fraser said while serious injuries to three key players – Kieran Collins (hamstring and achilles), Baxter Knight (fractured back) and Finbar O’Dwyer (ACL) – were setbacks, they had been turned into positives.

"When you look at a three-win season you think a lot must have gone wrong, but there are a lot of learnings. We recognise we need to improve in the way we play and there’s things we need to improve off field," he said.

"They're not big-ticket items but there's only so much you can do in a period of time as well, so for our first 12 months there's a few things we can be better with and part of our mantra is to keep growing and improving.

"Those injuries really hurt, but you flip that script and looking at the opportunities it provides for other players on our list.

"You almost have to go into a season expecting those things – we wanted to be a footy club that provided those opportunities, so for Mutaz to come in (to replace Collins) and play his role was great.

"We also moved Matty King out of the backline and put him on a wing and he showed some good growth, which allowed Matty Gundry to come into the team, so there’s always a ripple effect to guys going out of the team with injury."

Based on the improvement shown this year, the Bullants’ bandwagon is the march to be on going into 2022.

3-7 win-loss, 18^th

What went right: Having the season they did would have been beyond the Bullants’ wildest dreams when they decided to have a crack at saving their history. To win three in a row mid-season was the feelgood story of the year. Doug Lawrence and Mutaz El Nour were finds in defence, as was Danny Hughes in the ruck and Will Mitchell on the ball. And who can forget Jack Boyd’s Hanger In ‘Franga?

What went wrong: Hard to go past the 160-point round five thumping from Werribee, which equalled the biggest loss in their history and the Tigers’ biggest win. But there wasn’t much else.

Best and fairest prediction: Skipper Tom Wilson led from the front and could even be a sneaky Liston chance. He is a contender for Team Of The Year captain too. Hughes, Liam Mackie, Paul Ahern and Mitchell are in the mix to fill the placings.

Best young players: Hard to believe Hughes is only 23, but he equipped himself extremely well as an undersized ruck. El Nour, Tim Jones, Matthew King, Boyd and Sunny Brazier also enjoyed fine seasons.

Coach status: Josh Fraser is preparing to coach the Bullants for a second season, although he said "I'm ambitious with my coaching and if any opportunities within the AFL system came up I'd look at them. I’m still only a seventh-year coach so I still have that passion and desire to be at the elite level, but I’m incredibly proud of what we've built and all my attention and energy and efforts have been around planning for next year."

Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

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