‘She’s fierce’: Powerful story behind sad photo of young star… who was ready for AFLW at just 16

It’s the heart-wrenching photo that personifies Ava Usher’s distress at the toughest time in her life – and how much she’s grown in 18 months.

An Under 16 national championships best and fairest winner as a 15-year-old and a 2023 QAFLW premiership player, Usher was one of the best mid-teenage prospects AFLW recruiters had ever seen. One scout told foxfooty.com.au the Gold Coast academy midfielder could’ve been playing in the AFLW as a 16-year-old.

But the path to her AFLW dream took an emotional twist during a Suns training session in early March 2024 when her knee buckled. She would undergo scans to determine the full severity of the damage, but she already had a good inkling of what the result would be: An ACL rupture.

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A shattered and teary Usher sat on a chair with her right leg elevated and ice on her knee as she was comforted by Suns academy teammates Alannah Welsh, Georja Davies and older sister Aleira Usher.

Usher posted the post-training photo on her Instagram account in late April this year – 12 months after she began a gruelling knee rehabilitation program.

“As a player, she’s fierce, as a person, she’s resilient,” Davies said of Usher to foxfooty.com.au colleague Dylan Bolch.

“She has gone through so much in the last two years, no one should go through what she’s gone through. The emotional ups and downs for someone her age, it was insane.

“She was always smiling and always happy, it was really powerful.”

After being sidelined for all of 2024, Usher initially had plans to return to the field in mid-2025. But another training incident, which saw her land on her knee awkwardly, led to an arthroscope to remove scar tissue.

While Usher was relieved the damage wasn’t more serious, the setback essentially wiped out her 2025 campaign as well.

It means Usher – widely viewed as the No.1 2025 AFLW draft prospect during her 16th year – didn’t play any competitive footy games in her 17th and 18th years.

That won’t deter clubs from placing a top-10 bid on Usher on Monday night, which the Suns will match without hesitating.

But sitting on the sidelines and watching her team train and play for two years was brutally rough for Usher.

As she wrote on social media in April this year, having the sport you “live and breathe for in every way taken out from under you in seconds is one of the most devastating and heart-wrenching things to experience”.

Speaking with foxfooty.com.au, Usher said her main goal during recovery was to “come out on the other side better – both as a player and as a person”.

“It’s been a long journey,” Usher told foxfooty.com.au. “You have your ups and downs through all ACLs.

“As a person, I’ve matured a lot more, which then helps my on-field play. I now know my body so well and my mind, I know how I react in situations.

“I definitely do think I have come out on the other end so much better, a much better player as well, which is going to be really exciting for what holds in 2026.”

Usher, though, conceded she wouldn’t have emerged a better individual if it wasn’t for her family: Mum Kristie, dad Craig and older sister Aleira.

“They’re my main support system, they’re my whole world,” she said.

“It wasn’t just me that got injured – and that’s something I’m really big on – it was my whole family and it took a toll on everyone in the household. They’ve been by my side every single step of the way, everything I need they’ve been there for me through the highs and lows.

“When you have some setbacks through training and stuff like that and you come home, you’re in a bit of a bad mood. Don’t take it out on your family – trust me. They are only there to help and they just want the best for you.

“My family are literally the best.”

Another key figure in Usher’s recovery was Suns AFLW coach Rhyce Shaw, who suffered an ACL injury twice during his 237-game AFL career.

Shaw has a special bond with Usher, considering he also doubles as the Suns academy’s director of coaching. It means the AFLW coach works closely with the likes of Usher, Davies and Welsh before they join the list.

“He’s been a role model for me through my ACL,” Usher said of Shaw. “He’s taught me a bit of patience throughout the journey.

“The way he’s looking at it is really cool to actually think about. People from the outside might think he’s a bit crazy, but on the inside in the actual program, it’s going to work wonders for us.

“He’s an unbelievable coach … The way he thinks about things and puts it into action is actually so amazing. The way he gets around the girls, whether it’s in our control or out of our control, it’s on us still.”

Usher is one of up to seven Suns academy prospects that’ll be drafted onto the club’s AFLW list on Sunday night.

Gold Coast was the youngest team in the competition this year – and it’ll be even younger next year after recently farewelling the likes of Claudia Whitfort, Lauren Bella and Jac Dupuy during the trade period to help make room for the academy influx.

“The young fresh legs, I think, is something that’s going to work really well if I end up at the Suns. I’ve played with those girls since I was 12, so the connection we’ve already got and built wouldn’t be too bad,” Usher said.

Usher’s link to Gold Coast is strong. Not only has she been part of the academy for around six years, but older sister Aleira also came through the same pathway. Aleira also dates fellow academy graduate Will Graham, who’s been on the Suns’ AFL list for two years.

Usher’s “literal best friend”, also, is Havana Harris – an emerging AFLW superstar who was taken by the Suns with Pick 2 in last year’s draft. Usher was by Harris’ side at Marvel Stadium 12 months ago when Gold Coast matched Melbourne’s bid. The roles will be reversed on Monday night.

Harris made an immediate impact at AFLW level in 2025, winning Gold Coast’s goalkicking award, finishing second in the best and fairest count and placing fourth in the competition Rising Star award.

Usher and Harris love the beach and “don’t really talk about footy that much” when they’re together. But the prospect of running out together onto an AFLW field for the same team is a prospect they’ve dreamt about for years.

“At the end of the day, she (Harris) is always like ‘Ava, I can’t wait for you to be with me at the club’ and that sort of stuff. I say: ‘Hav, we’ve just got to wait until December,’” Usher said with a smile.

“But playing with her, I think that would be pretty special. Me and her, we’re very funny together, but at the same time it’s super wholesome and we have a really great friendship.

“I can’t wait for her to be sitting by my side at draft night.”

Usher is also an excellent example of why the club’s academy set-up is so important.

She came to footy – via Sunny and Matthew Lappin – from a multi-sport background, representing Queensland in basketball while also being a star surf lifesaver.

Now, Usher is one of the most exciting and powerful inside midfielders to ever come through the talent pathway.

Her speed and ability to burst away from stoppage are massive weapons, while she’s also a sound decision-maker and two-way runner.

But Usher is adamant her strongest trait is her ability and willingness to be “a team player”.

“I’ll never let my teammates get off the ground by themselves,” she said. “I’m always there for my teammates, I’m working my arse off for my teammates and hopefully they’re doing the same thing for me.

“Football specifically, as an inside mid you’ve got to get in and do the dirty work for the other girls and I’ll always give 110 per cent I have because I’ve got that heart and grit and determination.”

Usher looks up to the likes of star midfielders like Charlie Rowbottom, Mon Conti and Georgie Prespakis. All three made an immediate impact at AFLW level – something Usher also aspires to do, despite her wretched injury run in the past two years.

“As a first-year player … I want to come in and I want to make an impact straight away,” she said.

“It’s not an easy expectation, but I don’t mind that it’s not easy.

“I’m 110 per cent ready (for AFLW level). I can’t wait and by the time I play my first game, I’ll have a full pre-season under my belt at that level as well, which will be really good.”

“I’ve been working my bum off all year and I’m really excited and hopefully will get the praise that I – and all the rest of the girls – deserve at the end of the year, because I know everyone’s worked really hard.”