Toby Bedford

Toby Bedford
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-05-27) 27 May 2000 (age 24)
Original team(s) Dandenong Stingrays (TAC Cup)/ Melbourne Grammar School (APS)
Draft No. 75, 2018 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2020, Melbourne vs. West Coast, at Optus Stadium
Height 178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 69 kg (152 lb)
Position(s) Small forward
Club information
Current club Greater Western Sydney
Number 14
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2019–2022 Melbourne 18 (9)
2023– Greater Western Sydney 42 (22)
Total 60 (31)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Toby Bedford (born 27 May 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL), having initially been drafted to Melbourne in the 2018 AFL draft. A small forward, he made his AFL debut in the opening round of the 2020 season.

Junior career

During his junior career, Bedford played for the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup and was part of Melbourne's Next Generation Academy, which allowed Melbourne to match any other club's bid on Bedford during a draft. He also represented Vic Country at the 2018 AFL Under 18 Championships.[1] He also played for his school side Melbourne Grammar School in the APS competition. Bedford's strong performance in a TAC Cup preliminary final victory over the Sandringham Dragons, in which he amassed three goals, six tackles and 13 disposals, was highlighted by Fox Sports and ESPN. His speed and tackling were noted as strengths; ESPN likened his play to West Coast defender Lewis Jetta. Bedford was expected to attract a second-round bid in the upcoming 2018 AFL draft.[1][2]

AFL career

Bedford was drafted by Melbourne as an academy selection with pick 75 in the 2018 draft. He spent his first year at the club playing for Casey, Melbourne's Victorian Football League (VFL) affiliate; he played 21 matches in 2019.[3] He made his AFL debut in the opening round of the 2020 season.[4]

Bedford was traded to Greater Western Sydney at the conclusion of the 2022 AFL season.[5]

Statistics

Updated to the end of the 2024 season.[6]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2019 Melbourne 12 0 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
2020[a] Melbourne 12 2 0 1 6 10 16 3 4 0.0 0.5 3.0 5.0 8.0 1.5 2.0 0
2021 Melbourne 12 0 – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
2022#[b] Melbourne 12 16 9 3 33 32 65 13 21 0.6 0.2 2.1 2.0 4.1 0.8 1.3 0
2023 Greater Western Sydney 14 19 12 16 105 145 250 44 97 0.6 0.8 5.5 7.6 13.1 2.3 5.1 0
2024 Greater Western Sydney 14 23 10 7 103 165 268 41 141 0.4 0.3 4.5 7.2 11.7 1.8 6.1 2
Career 60 31 27 247 352 599 101 263 0.5 0.5 4.1 5.9 10.0 1.7 4.4 2

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. ^ 2022 statistics include two games in which Bedford was a used medical substitute (rounds 1 and 10) and eight games in which he was an unused medical substitute (rounds 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 12 and 19).

Personal life

Bedford has Bunuba Indigenous Australian ancestry[7] and is a cousin of Melbourne footballer Krstel Petrevski, who plays in the AFL Women's.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b Balmer, Matt (16 September 2018). "AFL Draft 2018: Pick 1 and top 10 prospects, Jack Lukosius, Tarryn Thomas, Toby Bedford". Fox Sports. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  2. ^ Doerre, Chris (18 September 2018). "AFL Draft Wrap: Toby Bedford stands out against Sandringham". ESPN. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  3. ^ Gibson, Ben (21 November 2019). "Bedford's fast start to pre-season". melbournefc.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  4. ^ McGowan, Marc (19 March 2020). "Two to debut as Dees eye 'silver lining' to no-crowd game". AFL.com.au. Telstra Media. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  5. ^ @AFL_House (10 October 2022). "Trade paperwork lodged" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Toby Bedford". AFL Tables. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  7. ^ AFL Players Indigenous Player Map 2024
  8. ^ Black, Sarah (13 November 2019). "Cousin of AFL duo paves path for Indigenous girls". womens.afl. Telstra Media. Retrieved 27 March 2020.