Toby Bedford

Toby Bedford (born 27 May 2000) is an Australian rules footballer playing for Melbourne in the Australian Football League (AFL). A small forward, he made his AFL debut in the opening round of the 2020 season.

Toby Bedford
Personal information
Date of birth (2000-05-27) 27 May 2000
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 Melbourne
Number 12
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2020– Melbourne 1 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 1, 2020.
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

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] 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]

Statistics
Statistics are correct to the end of round 1, 2020 [5]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
AFL playing statistics
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2020 Melbourne 12100268120.00.02.06.08.01.02.0–
Career 1 0 0 2 6 8 1 2 0.0 0.0 2.0 6.0 8.0 1.0 2.0 –

Personal life

An Indigenous Australian, Bedford is a cousin of fellow Melbourne footballer Krstel Petrevski, who plays in the AFL Women's.[6]

References
  1. 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. "Toby Bedford". AFL Tables. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  6. Black, Sarah (13 November 2019). "Cousin of AFL duo paves path for Indigenous girls". womens.afl. Telstra Media. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
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