Batcheldor to return ‘all guns blazing’

By Stephanie Smarrelli

A millisecond was all it took for Reilley Batcheldor's 2023 season to come crashing down.

The young goaler, a rising star of the Suncorp Super Netball competition, was just hitting her strides for the Sunshine Coast Lightning when a serious injury had her sidelined for a year.

“I had so much more to give in 2023 and that was all shut down in one millisecond on the netball court,” she said.

At just 20-years-old she suffered her second ACL injury, this time while on court at the 2022 Australian Netball Championships.

Reflecting on the moment, Batcheldor knew straight away what she'd done.
 
“I knew. It was my second one I'd done doing the exact same motion. It was the exact same area on the court, and it was the same feeling. A little snap, my left knee kind of collapsed inward and I knew,” she said.

Devastated by the injury, Batcheldor was immediately wrapped into the supportive arms of her teammates and club personnel.

"My friends were immediately around me, I had Annie Miller and Ava Black at ANCs and I remember Annie slept in my bed that night because I was hysterical. I couldn't believe what happened,” she said.
 
Forced to sit out for an entire year, Batcheldor was determined not to let the setback define her and ensured she was still an integral part of her team's 2023 season, albeit from the sidelines.

"I was at every training session so I could give my advice to the shooting end, but it was so tough, nearly every second training session I was in tears. I had FOMO (fear of missing out) but I did what I could,” she said.

Looking forward to the 2024 season Batcheldor is ready to take her opportunities on the court. Nothing is a given, and she certainly won't be taking anything for granted.

“I played my first game back, it was in house, but I had no restrictions so I'm ready to go come Suncorp Team Girls Cup and Round 1,” she said. 

“After this injury, I have an entirely different mindset towards getting on the court. Every time I'm on the court, that's another opportunity to play the best netball I can, knowing that it could all be over within one millisecond...that's a motivator.” 

During her first season of Suncorp Super Netball, Batcheldor made a name for herself slotting 37 Super Shots and 160 goals in total. 

This year, the Super Shot specialist is determined to build on that first year in order to cement her status as a force to be reckoned with in the world's best netball league.

“2024 will be another big one for me, in that Super Shot time I'm going for it all guns blazing,” Batcheldor said. 

“I love the pressure. I shoot better when there is more pressure on me. I remember in 2022, Vicki Wilson (ex Lightning assistant coach) said to me: ‘When you're on, your goal is to just shoot twos, I don't want you going for ones’.

And I was like, ‘I'll do it', I love it.”