From signing up to play footy with her sister to being drafted alongside some of her closest friends, it’s been a meteoric rise for Josie Bamford.
The Bayswater and Ferntree Gully junior was greeted by close friend, Monbulk junior and Collingwood player Georgia Knight on draft night ahead of her first season at the Pies.
Bamford said she started playing with Bayswater in 2017 or 2018 before moving to Ferntree Gully in 2021.
“I think it was the Under 12s in 2018, we won the premiership for Bayswater, which is really good and my dad was the assistant coach so I was really happy with that one,” she said.
“Then in my third year, I filled in a lot for my sister’s team, which was I think the Under 18s and that was good fun, because I would play a game in the morning and then in the afternoon with my sister.”
Bamford’s talents saw her picked to play in interleague, Eastern Ranges and eventually Vic Metro squads throughout her junior years.
Bamford said it was when she was picked for the Vic Metro Under 16s that she realised a footy career is what she’d really like to pursue.
“I wanted to go to the Olympics for high jump so my dreams changed to footy which I thought was a lot more realistic,” she said.
“I talked to a manager throughout the year, and he was thinking about (pick) 20 to 30, something like that but it was during pre-season for Metro, where it was a summer hub and we talking to clubs, that was when it was starting to feel really real.
Bamford was selected with Pick 29 in the draft.
Bamford said ahead of draft night, she wasn’t feeling too nervous.
“I was talking to Jordi (Jordyn Allen, pick 16 to Melbourne) and Tayla (McMillan, pick 34 to Carlton), my best friends from Ranges, and they were really nervous even though I don’t know why either of them would be really nervous,” she said.
“I was pretty laid back, I’ve been trusting the process, but I had all my friends over at my house, so that made me a bit more nervous when they all showed up,
“My name got called out, it was a bit of a shock, I was hoping for Collingwood, but I didn’t know it and I’ve been best friends with Georgia Knight from when we played Ranges together… she showed up to my house to give me the jumper and I didn’t even know how to process it all.”
While her height and high jump background have lent themselves well to playing as a ruck/forward, Bamford began as an inside midfielder or wing as a junior and only started playing in the ruck at Under 16 level with the Eastern Ranges.
“I think my playstyle is an athletic ruck, I like to get around the ground fast to all the stoppages,” he said.
“Pies fans can look forward to seeing me dominate in the ruck and hand it to my midfielders cleanly and efficiently.
“I hope to debut this year and play consistently, I’m looking forward to playing with Georgia Knight and players like Ash Centra…I’m even really excited for the professionalism because it’s my full-time job now and I don’t have to really focus on anything else other than footy.”
