ONE OF the brightest young talents to have ever graced a football field, Ava Usher had ‘future star’ written all over her after an incredible double bottom-age campaign where she made a living breaking ankles and producing highlights that many would dream of being able to do.

However life, and in her case, injury does not discriminate based on talent, and in a frustrating twist no one saw coming, she would not play a competitive match in the last 18 months of her junior career. It was March 7, 2024 with seven minutes left in training and in a familiar story to so many others, Usher’s left knee gave way and scans revealed the dreaded anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

“I got two practice matches in before the season started and then the training the week before our first game, did my knee seven minutes left of training,” Usher told Rookie Me Central during the preseason.

“It was a bit rough, you go through these patches, but I’m 10 and a half months down now so I’ve just been flying through working my absolute bum off, super keen to just get back to playing footy because it’s what I love doing. I’ve been working in secret but it’s been really hard sometimes, but we all get through it.”

>> AFLW Draft Preseason Q&A: Ava Usher

Unfortunately that excitement to return, much like her knee in the next instant, copped a bump which meant the talented pick one contender was to sit out her top-age season alongside her bottom-age one.

“Just had a little knock, it was more of a scare from my point of view,” Usher said at the recent National Drat Combine. “With a bit of contact, it was unpredictable and uncontrollable, I had no idea it was coming. “It was a bit of a situation with me and just a bit more cautious of what was actually going on, nothing major came up at all, so just got it cleaned out and it was the best thing I ever did.”

The situation where you can sit out your last two junior football seasons and still be considered a draft prospect is rare, the fact that Usher is universally revered as the top prospect, near impossible. It is a position she did not expect to be in, but “grateful” that injury has not ruined her career.

“Definitely a little relieved, grateful for the opportunities that I’ve been given by the Suns back home and like I said with this group of girls everyone’s so talented, so for myself to even still be even talked about is something to be pretty proud of,” Usher said.

“I’ve been working my arse off all year, last year and even the year before when I was still playing footy. Just super grateful to still be in that position where I’m still even getting talked about in the slighted bit, but I just can’t wait to hopefully get my name called out in December.”

For anyone who has seen the Queenslander play, Usher has that hunger to win the ball, and aggression to rip it back off the opposition. Fuelled by a return that never came, Usher had to keep herself involved as much as she possibly could.

“Got myself a little coaching gig with Queensland this year,” Usher said. “So keeping myself involved, and with this group of girls, they’re all my absolute best friends so I wouldn’t want it any other way.

“I absolutely love these girls and for me especially not playing, but thinking I was going to play and trying to come back for it. I worked my arse off all year and I even still do now because I can’t wait for what 2026 holds and obviously not been playing I’m super excited for it.”

Perhaps scarily for any opponent she faces in the future, Usher has developed her off-field game and overall football understanding to a greater level than before, as well becoming dual-sided, working hard on her left foot kicking.

“As a more mature player I’d like to think seeing it from the other side of the line I’ve come back and old Ava might have been in a couple of positions she might not have needed to be in, talking in a football sense,” Usher said.

“Now these days I’m not in those silly positions, and my brain has really developed so my footy IQ has definitely bumped up a little bit which is something really exciting, and football wise I can kick on my left foot, opposite foot now and my composure has really bumped up as well.”

Despite injuring her left knee, Usher’s desire to have a football in her hands at all times and her inability to lean on her left leg, meant she put the pressure on her right, and used her left foot. An aspect that she said could help her get out of a “sticky situation in a game”.

Working hard as ever, Usher is training at the Suns headquarters between “four to five times a week” and training the AFLW side once in that time. She does outside gymwork, swimming and fitness, and having done surf lifesaving growing up, Usher will always be fond of the water.

Sitting out the year was tough considering her drive from last season and over the preseason was to return to the field, and though that never happened, she was able to gain some pride and enjoyment out of seeing her Queensland teammates succeed.

“I couldn’t be more happy for them,” Usher said. “We’ve got such a strong group of girls in the whole draft let alone in Queensland. “We have like five girls which could go in the top 15 which is absolutely insane and I don’t think our state has ever been talked about how it gets talked about this year.

“Its super exciting to see that, and not being the football state or Victoria in general, it’s really cool to see. It could have come with a win with the national champs, but you know everything happens for a reason, and to watch my friends thrive is something I enjoy doing and obviously wish I was out there but couldn’t be.”

At the National Draft Combine, Usher is kept busy by a plethora of club interviews, with teams outside the Suns doing their best to convince the Queenslander to nominate open pool, and attempt to be in a position to draft her. The Gold Coast-tied talent joked that maybe it was because she was a “big talker” but it was still “pretty cool” to think clubs were keen on her despite her substantial time out of the game.

The big question on everyone’s lips around Usher and her draft nomination is whether or not she would consider opting for an open draft, or nominating the Suns and following that pathway through alongside a stack of other AFLW Draft prospects in 2025.

“There’s a lot to weigh up and obviously as an 18-year-old girl if you do leave, you’ll be moving out of home, and leaving your family behind,” Usher said “But at the end of the day its whats best for me and my football career at the time whether that’s at home or not at home.

“That’s just stuff you’ve got to weigh up from now to December and I’ve got a really good manager Dylan Hodge behind me as well. “He works his bum off to sort me out and I’m just the player, and sit here, chat with the other clubs and just enjoy myself while I’m here because its a once in a lifetime opportunity.”