Three years to the day after Ridley underwent surgery on a ruptured ACL, the 22-year-old received a phone call to inform her she was being called up to the Firebirds squad to face the Melbourne Mavericks last weekend.
Playing in her hometown with her mum Robin, father Rob, AFL-playing brother Jordan and friends in the crowd at John Cain Arena, Ridley’s moment came at halftime when she was handed a wing defence bib and informed she would be going on for the start of the third quarter.
Moments later, Ridley was on court and confirmed as Firebird No.113.
“The day Adrian (Thompson, Firebirds General Manager – High Performance) rang me it was exactly three years since I had my ACL surgery,” Ridley said.
“I had it on June 12 2021 and then he called me on June 12 2024. It was really weird but really cool – a full circle moment for sure.”
Ridley’s surgery led to the then 19-year-old having to remain in Victoria with her family during a long lockdown, with rehab actually proving to be a good distraction during that time.
“It was a really trying time in my life for sure … I ended up being stuck down there for seven months,” Ridley said.
“I had just moved up to Queensland to start this new life after COVID and after school and I was on scholarship at Bond University so my studies were really important to me.
“I couldn’t be in person at class … honestly the rehab was what got me through in a weird way. Just like having something to tick off and like a really achievable goal was to get back on the court. It honestly got me through that lockdown for sure.”
Fast forward three years and Ridley admits it was a nerve-wracking moment when she realised she wasn’t just part of the Firebirds matchday squad but was going to be coming onto the court.
A moment though that she will never forget.
“Loz (Lauren Brown) came up to me in the warm up and just said ‘if I put you on I back you in 100 per cent’ and she’s like ‘be really ready’,” Ridley said.
“She kind of gave me that look and I was like ‘oh god, I’m probably going to go on’.
“The moment you’ve worked for for so long but yeah, really nervous, and then as soon as I stepped on court and we started warming up at halftime I was fine, just kind of got into game mode.”
Studying Biomedical Science at the University of Queensland, part of Ridley’s overall ambition to one day become a doctor, the midcourter is far from done with her netball dreams either.
“As soon as I got that call it wasn’t like I’ve made it, it was like, cool, the hard work starts now,” she said.
“It’s just kind of renewed faith in yourself that you’re on the right path and you’re kind of getting closer to your goal but definitely not done yet.”
