Super Netball 2024: Why Firebirds star Kim Ravaillion will play on after back surgery

Kim Ravaillion has been warned she is at high risk of injuring herself following her back surgery but the Firebirds captain isn’t going to let that stop her taking the court this season.

Kim Ravaillion has been warned she is at high risk of injuring herself following her back surgery but the Firebirds captain isn’t going to let that stop her taking the court this season.

Just weeks before the season launched Ravaillion revealed to CODE Sports she could possibly miss the entire Super Netball season.

She was named in the squad for the opening round clash with reigning premiers Thunderbirds and played 23 minutes off the bench in their one goal loss.

Ravaillion was rushed to the operating room for a herniated disc in December after an incident in a gym session that left her in severe pain.

The midcourter said it was a long rehab journey.

Kim Ravaillion in action for the Firebirds during the round one clash with the Thunderbirds. Picture: Getty Images

“A lot of people were asking me when I was back training and when I was going to play and I couldn’t give an answer because you just can’t with the kind of surgery that I had done,” Ravaillion said.

“It is really about how I’m feeling and if I’m feeling 100 per cent on the day then I’m ready to go.”

The 30-year-old said she had been warned she was at a high risk of injury.

“A surgeon has to say what he has to say and he gave me some hard truths about where I’m at,” Ravaillion said.

“He just told me that I need to be very careful, ‘you’re at a high risk of injuring yourself’.

“So hearing those words with the fact that I’ve got a little girl at home and in my life it hits you between the eyes, it’s a reality check.

“But I know how fit and how strong I am and how hard I work. I’ve got really great teammates around me to support me.”

There was a chance Kim Ravaillion could miss the Super Netball season. Picture: Getty Images

Ravaillion said it had taken a lot of repetitive training and rehab to get her back to being match fit.

Firebirds head physiotherapist Talia Yarden said she couldn’t fault Ravaillion’s efforts to get back on the court.

“She was pretty restricted and pretty limited in the early days,” Yarden said.

“To Rav’s credit she had do the boring things really, really well and lots and lots and lots of reps in that early rehab process. It’s so mundane and so repetitive and she did all the things there.”

Yarden said it was a multifaceted rehab focuses on Ravaillion’s lower back and then her lower limbs – particularly strength, control and balance.

“To be able to perform and play really well like we saw on the weekend, she sat out nearly all the pre-season games and has watched a lot of netball, but for her to be able to transfer that on to the court and perform really well is huge,” Yarden said.

Kim Ravaillion celebrated her 150th game in Super Netball after the game against Thunderbirds. PictureL Getty Images

Ravaillion, who is used to playing 60 minute games all season long has accepted that is unlikely to be her role this season.

“I don’t really think there is a starting seven these days,” Ravaillion said.

“I think it’s just whoever is going to match up well against that team, then we can bring anyone on during the game. It’s a team of 10, not seven anymore – it’s a rotating system so whether I start or not, we will find out.

“I’d love to be out there the whole game but if I’m not up to that standard I know the person next to me is – we’ve built this culture of everyone is ready to go.”

SKIPPER’S BIG CALL TO RETURN

Queensland Firebirds captain Kim Ravaillion is “ready to go” for the start of the Super Netball season after making it through her return to the court following major off-season back surgery.

In a significant boost to the Firebirds’ preparations for round 1, Ravaillion ticked off her first on-court appearance at the weekend since having an operation on a ruptured disc in her back late last year.

The midcourt star played almost half a game in the Firebirds’ final pre-season hitout – a 74-46 loss to the Sunshine Coast Lightning – at Nissan Arena on Saturday.

It was the last major hurdle for Ravaillion, who had an operation on a herniated disc just before Christmas, in her bid to be ready for the start of the Firebirds’ campaign.

The Firebirds open the Super Netball season against defending champions the Adelaide Thunderbirds at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Saturday.

Queensland Firebirds skipper Kim Ravaillion says she is ‘ready to go” for round one after off-season back surgery. Picture: Getty

Ravaillion said she was relieved to have made it through her return to the court and now hoped to line up alongside her teammates in the season opener.

“(It was) so exciting, it felt like I was debuting,” Ravaillion said of her return to the court.

“I was so nervous and anxious and as soon as the whistle went I was just in game mode.

“That white-line fever just kicked in, the adrenaline just kind of took over.

“I just didn’t worry about everything that had happened, I was like ‘You can play netball, just get out there and have fun’.

“I had to pick and choose my moments but I was like ‘I have done all the work’ … I got out there and felt really comfortable and confident.

Kim Ravaillion is on the comeback from off-season back surgery. Picture: Getty

“Seeing the girls get out there has only just inspired me to work super hard in my rehab and I’ve got to round 1.

“That was my aim, to get to round 1, and I just feel confident now and ready to go.

“I’m glad that’s all out of the way and I can just focus on the season.”

While there had been uncertainty over when Ravaillion would be able to return to the court after her operation, the 30-year-old said she would not have put up her hand to play in round 1 without any pre-season match play behind her.

“I think just being able to play with my girls and just have a little contest, I think it’s super important that I got out there,’’ she said.

“Now I have got that out of the way and I can just really focus on getting out in round 1, confident.”

Having battled back pain for the past two seasons, Ravaillion was rushed in for surgery in December after a gym session left her in severe pain and without feeling in her foot.

The former Diamonds midcourter said it had been a frustrating pre-season watching her teammates prepare from the sidelines.

“It has been such a tease sitting on the sidelines,” Ravaillion said.

“I have lost my voice pretty much throughout the whole pre-season because I have not been able to play.”

Originally published as Super Netball 2024: Why Firebirds star Kim Ravaillion will play on after back surgery