Carlton's VFL affiliate, the Northern Bullants, returned from their bye with stunning form, beating the Werribee Tigers by 32 points at Chirnside Park on Sunday.

The Bullants now have five wins from six games, and are second on the ladder along with North Ballarat, who has been edged into third on percentage. Williamstown remains undefeated and on top of the table.

Coach David Teague shares his thoughts on the match and how some of the Carlton-listed players performed in the win. 

Our team had a few new faces and it was really good with the way the new boys went straight into it. They played a good team game, which is what got us over the line.

We started a little slow in the start but then Brad Fisher really lit up the forward line. He kicked three first-quarter goals and he had a bit of a mismatch, so the boys started moving the ball nice and quick forward.

We ended up having a three-goal lead at quarter-time, and we extended that each quarter throughout the game until the last when Werribee came back at us late.

We took a couple of blokes off due to the five-day turnaround for Carlton and with Jarrad Waite getting injured, but the guys out on the field still competed pretty hard even though they were out on their legs.

Fisher has been getting better as the weeks go by, after taking time getting used to the tempo.


Cameron Cloke rolled his ankle in the first minute of the game. It's not too serious at this stage and he'll probably only miss one week. We'd love him to get up because he's such a big, powerful forward and he's great to have in the team.

He said to me he thinks he might be right and, as a coach, I'd love him to be available especially if we lose one or two to the seniors.

With Waite going out and Simon Wiggins, I think there will be at least two or three changes in the seniors and maybe three or four in the reserves.

We get Chris Johnson (thigh) and Jordan Bannister (VFL suspension) back this week so hopefully whoever we have can step up and fulfil their role.

I think Shaun Grigg will play with us again. It was his first week back and he had an interrupted pre-season, although he did play some good footy throughout the NAB Cup.

He was our best midfielder on the weekend. He won a lot of the ball early but his ability at stoppages to win the ball and his ball use after quarter-time really set us up.

Ryan Houlihan got tagged pretty heavily and to his credit, he stuck to his task. He really put the team first, which was pleasing. He sacrificed his own game at times to position himself, which gave the team cover, and he went to other players.

He probably didn't win as much of the ball as we'd like, but the way he went about it and the role he played for the team was very important.

Joe Anderson was very good off half-back again. He had lots of run and he presented first, and every time he gets the ball in his hands at the moment something exciting seems to happen.

Adam Hartlett across centre half-back was strong; he descended really well on his opponents, had a few different opponents, and his kicking is really setting us up.

David Ellard is the other Carlton-listed player who stood out. He did a role on North Melbourne's Daniel Harris and annoyed him from the word go. I thought he won that battle and pushed forward to kick a goal.

We were in good form going into the bye but it was pleasing the boys were able to slot right back into the manner they were playing beforehand. It was hard to pick a best because everyone played their role all day, so I named about six blokes.

If we're going to be successful this year, that's the way we've got to play.

Werribee Tigers   1.3  3.8  5.11  10.17 (77)   
Northern Bullants  5.2  8.6  13.10  16.13 (109)

Werribee Tigers
Goal kickers: M. Pask 4, T. Bongetti, A. Obst, B. Dickson, F. Chisholm, A. Banjanin, W. Martiniello
Best players: L. Greenwood, R. Castello, D. Gleeson, B. Sharp, W. Martiniello, M. Barlow

Northern Bullants
Goal kickers: B. Fisher 4, J. Saddington 3, D. Boundy 2, S. O'hAilpin 2, S. Everington, D. Ellard, A. Gianfagna, J. McCorkell, J. Garlett
Best players: B. Fisher, S. Grigg, B. Bransgrove, D. Ellard, A. Hartlett, J. Anderson