By Amanda Myler
KIM Ravaillion has enjoyed watching the 2026 Queensland Firebirds roster reveal, knowing first-hand that the club’s return to success requires an honouring of legacy while leaning into new values and standards.
The retired Firebirds captain and Australian Diamond midcourter is revelling in a new phase of life, based in Melbourne with her family, and working with the Melbourne Demons as an AFLW player development manager.
Distance and time has allowed this fan favourite to reflect on her outstanding career, which includes two ANZ Championship premierships from four consecutive grand final appearances.
“We rocked up in 2013, when a lot of people pinned us as the underdogs,” Ravaillion said of her transition from the Australian Institute of Sport to the Firebirds.
“There were lots of fresh faces, Gabs (Gabi Simpson) and I were two of them. We came second against the Adelaide Thunderbirds that year. In 2014, we had a similar season except we were expected to win, came up against the Melbourne Vixens and lost in the grand final.”
Those successive grand final losses forced the Roselee Jencke-coached side to look beyond on-court performance to the beliefs and values driving behaviours.
“At the start of the 2015 season, we asked ourselves, ‘Why can’t we win the big one at the end?’” Ravaillion said.
“So, we sat in a room on day one of preseason, and did a whole lot of work on our culture. We had this culture that was imprinted in the legacy of the Queensland Firebirds but it wasn’t resonating with the current group. We loved that legacy, but decided to add a page of our own.”
What resulted was a Firebirds team who knew what they were about, kept each other accountable, and remained connected during a one-goal (57-56) victory over the NSW Swifts with 30 seconds to play.
“You could see those values come out in the dying minutes of the 2015 grand final when we were behind all game and then snatched it, because we believed we were going to win,” Ravaillion said.
“We were the bridesmaids for a while, and then to finally do it and get that feeling of accomplishment after all that hard work, and then to do it again was amazing (referring to the 2016 premiership). We would celebrate the wins, because that was important, and we would ask ourselves if it was possible to go back-to-back, then we’d answer that question in the gym and at training by working hard.
“In the 2016 grand final, we came up against the Swifts again but we were just too strong. The game went into double extra time and we won by one. We just believed in each other so much and had that willing mindset throughout that two-year period.”
It’s the most significant purple patch in the club’s history, one that may provide the necessary learnings for future glory in this current Super Super Netball era.
“It’s sad to see how much success we had then, and how little we’ve had since,” Ravaillion said.
“We had to change our culture as a group back then, so it’s really dependent on this group coming through now to come up with something that resonates with them and their beliefs, that they can hold themselves accountable to.”
Ravaillion admitted to missing netball more than she expected to, but the 32-year-old is still satisfying her competitive edge on the local courts.
“I made the ‘Team of the Year’ in the Southern Football Netball League,” she laughed.
“I got an email about it and I was chuffed. I just wanted to have fun, and enjoy netball again. It has brought me so much joy, and I had forgotten how good netball is.”
What she’ll never forget are those unprecedented winning years at the highest level.
“As much as the others weren’t so good, I can only think of those two years of greatness,” Ravaillion said.
“The players that surrounded me then are some of my best mates nowadays. The Firebirds were the first club to give me the opportunity, and I’ll always be so grateful for that, and I’ll always give back and support the club.”
Join current and former Firebirds players for an unforgettable long lunch experience at the Third Annual Fifth Quarter event on Friday, November 14. Premiership winners Gretel Bueta, Gabi Simpson and Romelda Aiken-George will all feature on a panel at the event celebrating our legends of the game. Tickets and more information are all available here.
