It was about halfway through last year that the thought first entered Toby Bedford’s mind.

Bedford loved Melbourne, and had made some great friends at the Demons since being drafted there at the end of 2018.

He was improving, he had begun to break into the premiership side and was starting to feel like his football was going somewhere.

On the flipside, the 22-year-old started many of his 18 games as Melbourne’s medical sub, before ending the season out of the senior team despite his continued good form.

So he started to wonder – should he take up an opportunity elsewhere?

“It was pretty tough. Obviously it was my most successful year in the AFL system so far in terms of playing games and being part of the squad, but it was also one of the hardest years I’ve had since my first year,” Bedford said.

The small forward explains his decision to join the GIANTS in a new episode of the Becoming GIANT podcast.

“Early on I was just excited to be part of the squad and part of game day, but once I started to play some good football at AFL level I just wanted to keep playing.

“Towards the back end of the year when I wasn’t playing as much, or even when I was the sub, I was more disappointed I wasn’t starting, because I felt like I could definitely help the team.

“That was why I wanted to come here. I wanted the opportunity and I know that if I get that, I can improve a lot.

“I played some good footy last year but I’ve only played a handful of games at that level, so I still feel like I can improve a lot.”

Bedford met with a GIANTS crew including new coach Adam Kingsley and captain Toby Greene before deciding to move to Sydney, where he formed a quick bond with fellow small forward Brent Daniels.

While their preseason hamstring injuries prevented the pair from starting out together in round one, he is looking forward to joining forces with Daniels in the GIANTS’ forward line.

“I think with our forward pressure, we kind of bounce off each other – not really try to outdo each other and be competitive, but when he did something good I would try and do something good, and vice versa. We were bouncing off each other and I was loving playing with him,” Bedford said.

“I felt like what I was bringing to the team was helping, my forward pressure and my speed, so it was quite frustrating when I first did the injury, my first injury I’ve ever had.

“It takes a little bit to settle in with new players and learn how everyone plays, but the last few weeks before I got injured I started to feel like I was settling into the forward line really well.”