Draft Diaries is back for a third year, introducing Bond University's young gun Ava Usher and rising Dandenong Stingrays star Mizuki Brothwell to the wider footy world. Both players are eligible for the Telstra AFLW Draft in December, with Usher tied to Gold Coast through its club academy. This is Usher's first check-in for the year, with Brothwell's introduction in the coming days.
THE NAME Ava Usher has long been bandied about in women's football circles as a star of the future.
The 2023 year saw the powerful midfielder named one of two best and fairests in the under-16 national championships, and then in the All-Australian under-18 side later that year.
Finally, it's her time to shine – but first, she's got to knock off the last little bit of rehab from that pesky ACL injury.
Playing with Bond University and Gold Coast's academy, Usher's progressing well in the tail-end of her recovery, having just ticked over the 12-month mark since surgery on her right knee.
"I did my knee on March 7, 2024 at a training session. There was seven minutes left of training, and we were in a non-contact drill, so the odds are, you know. It was super unlucky at the time, the movement – sometimes it just happens," Usher said.
"I found at the start I was very impatient; I wanted to get back into everything, get going and stuff like that, which I'm sure everyone does. But you've got to take the time to concentrate on things you never thought you'd have to concentrate on. It plays a lot on your mental health, as well.
"I was very emotional, not going to lie. It was more to the fact that I wasn't going to play that year. Being my bottom-age season, it means a lot, but it didn't mean everything to not play that year.
"To where I am now, it's just so different to what I was feeling back then, I see everything from a different perspective now. I coached a little bit with the under-18 Queensland girls as well, so seeing that from the other side of the line was pretty cool. Now I see my game with a whole different perspective.
"[The phrase] 'I get to' instead of 'I have to' has played a massive part in my rehab as well. Coming from not getting to do stuff, and getting the things you love taken away from you, to being able to get to do these things again, and waking up and choosing to do these things again – I find most people take a lot of things for granted, and I won't be one of those people."
Usher was drafted into footy by former Blue Matthew Lappin, the father of one of her best friends, Sunny (who is also a chance to find her way onto an AFLW list at the end of the year).
She said she was in the Suns academy the following week, at just 11 years old, opting to give her national-level basketball career away at 14 as her love of footy developed.
Around the time she started playing footy, Usher was one of Queensland's best surf lifesavers in her age group, attending national swimming championships and representing her state in basketball.
"I would definitely say my competitiveness is one of my go-to things that keep me going. I love being out there winning games, winning contests, being out there with my friends as well," Usher said.
"Some players I've looked up to [is] definitely Charlie Rowbottom. When I've gone in and out of the AFLW system with the Suns – we train with them and stuff – it's really good to get along with her.
"Outside of Suns, I'd like to think I really got into Mon Conti with the basketball background – I think I play a bit like her and Charlie together.
"I really love Dusty Martin. I really looked up to him, the way he played, the hunger and competitiveness he showed, so I like to think I'm a little bit of a replica of him. I definitely tried to base my game off Dusty Martin, when I'm out there, I'm giving myself a little bit of the hype, I'm like 'Dusty Martin would have done that'. Obviously he doesn't know who I am, but he's played a big part in my career. I love to watch him and watch how he does things, the transition running he does, the fending he does, all the cool stuff."
Usher has graduated high school and is studying law and criminology at Bond Uni. Surfing with close friend and Suns draftee Havana Harris is also high on the to-do list, the slightly older player set to be an important guide through Usher's final year of junior footy.
"I really like playing golf, I find that really interesting and fun to do, it calms me down a little bit when I'm heightened. But I love playing that with my family, especially my dad," she said.
"Another thing I've taken up with my knee was colouring in, it sounds really odd, but I don't know if you've seen it on TikTok, the big textas and the big colouring books – it looks like it's for children, but I love doing that stuff. I find it really fun and relaxing, I put my music on and I'm at home on my balcony, with the beach noises in the background.
"My footy goals for this year is to one, be back playing, fit and healthy. And two, just to play some really good, consistent footy leading into the draft."
