After 700 days away, Wallace is ready to fly again

By Stephanie Smarrelli 

Suncorp Super Netball goaler Sam Wallace was delivered news that any elite sportsperson dreads. “The surgeon said: ‘I don't think you'll be returning to netball,'” Wallace said. 

But she is ready to prove everyone wrong. It has now been more than 700 days since the NSW Swifts goal shooter has played an elite game of netball. 

Her career came to a devastating halt in Round 1, 2022, when the goaler was riding the high of the Swifts’ premiership win, her second in the dress. She was at the top of her game. 

But it was then that the Swifts goaler fell to the ground clutching her knee. She later learned she had damaged “everything in the knee” including her ACL, MCL and meniscus. 

Before the injury, Wallace was the Swifts' leading goal scorer with 585 goals in the 2021 season, shot at 93 per cent accuracy. 

Netballers often return about 12 months after doing a serious knee injury, but for Wallace was forced to sit on the sidelines for two years, desperate to not let the injury end her career. 

“I thought I would've been back last year and after my surgery I was doing well but then I was told I needed a clean out,” Wallace said. 

“I didn't understand why because I thought I was doing really well in my recovery. The swelling was still there but I was able to squat, and I was walking okay but after I did my clean out that October or November I went backwards.” 

Motivated by her faith, with support from her family, friends, teammates, and her own desire not to have her career ended by injury, Wallace kept going.  

"One hundred per cent, I felt like giving up. I felt like I can't keep going through this, especially after my first year of rehab and the initial thought of coming back the next year and then having that taken away,” she said.  

“That was my breaking point, the first year of rehab was fine. I just had to deal with it, that happens, it's sport but the second year of rehab, I was like holy moly. I'm ready to quit.” 

Wallace's rehab journey was difficult with the goaler feeling like she wasn't making any progress. 

“I wasn't seeing any progress in the gym, no matter how many leg extensions, presses and squats I did there was no results until I got a cortisone injection. That's when my knee started settling, the swelling, disappeared and I was starting to see muscle build in my leg,” she said.  

The silver lining to the injury was the time it gave Wallace to reflect on her life outside of netball. 

"The injury was bad but it actually made me sit for once, reflecting on my life as an individual and what I want to do after netball,” she said. 

When asked about what her career aspirations beyond netball are, the goaler declared she wants to go into childhood education. 
 
“I love kids, I'm always with someone's kid after games. I don't know whose kid it is; I just end up with some random baby girl,” she said.

Having injured her knee in early 2022, Wallace missed out on another opportunity to represent her home country Trinidad & Tobago at both the Commonwealth Games and the Netball World Cup. 

Thinking about the World Cup in particular, Wallace was glad she didn't rush back for it and risk further injury.  

“It's an honour to play for my country but the pressure on me to help win games I don't think I was ready for,” Wallace admitted. 

“I was in good health and good hands at the Swifts so initially when Briony (Akle, Swifts head coach) told me I was not going to play in 2023 I was devastated, and our goal was to get me back for the World Cup. Even though I was missing SSN, I at least had one goal to try to accomplish that year.  

“I made the decision to take my time to fully recover and not push myself because in Tobago, we don't have insurance and that kind of stuff, you play for the love of the game and the country. If I was to injure myself more by playing in the World Cup, I knew it would be in my hands, so I decided to step out of the World Cup.”  

With less resources to support her back home, Wallace has no regrets about sacrificing the opportunity to play in her third Netball World Cup. 

"I knew I wanted to come back to SSN and that was the sacrifice I made to play in the best league in the world,” she said. 

Asked about how it felt watching the Swifts fall just short of the premiership in 2023, Wallace said she was heartbroken. 

“It's heartbreaking. Romelda [Aiken-George] came in and did an awesome job and she was shocked because when Briony gave her the call she wasn't expecting to be full-time.  

“What I love and appreciate about her is she checked in to see if I was okay with her replacing me and I was like ‘Hell yes! You are a legend, you've been in this game for so long no one else can replace me,'” Wallace said.  

Despite sitting on the sidelines Wallace continued to contribute to the Swifts environment.  

"I knew these girls had my back even though I wasn't playing. I knew my voice in the team is so important because they look up to me and I could still have their back in different ways, even though I wasn't getting on court,” she said. 

“In the change room praying before they go out on court or just hyping them up, trying to twerk or do something silly to make them laugh because I know they feed off my energy. Energy plays a huge part in the Swifts, when I'm down, I know they're going to be down so as soon as I enter that changing room, it's positivity and not thinking about myself.” 

During her time away from the court, Wallace was grateful for Akle who ensured the goaler was involved in a coaching role. 

"Briony involved me in the coaching role and actually took on my feedback when I thought to put Sophie on for the two-point shot and things like that," she said.

"Those things mattered to me and made me feel appreciated and wanted, even though I was injured.”  

Talking about the season ahead Wallace is looking forward to enjoying her time on the court. The goaler became a little bit emotional while speaking about reuniting with her teammates and close friends on the court. 

"Playing with these girls means so much because these girls rally around me.  When I did my injury, I know they felt every bit of it especially Helen Housby and Maddy Proud who I'm really close with and I saw them cry on TV [when the injury happened], it will be good to have that circle,” she said. 

“Helen and I, we've been in this since 2017 and when she came back from the Netball Nations Cup series we had a training together and she was like: 'Sam, we're back training together!', it just felt so good.” 

With the season around the corner Wallace is taking her comeback one step at a time. 

And Wallace's main goal? Playing Round 1, which she expects will be emotional.  

“It's a bit bittersweet and a bit emotional especially Round 1 and the expectations in my head. Will I be good enough? Will I be the Samantha I used to be? So many fans and young kids are waiting for my return. I'm trying not to put all that expectation on myself,” she said. 

"[But] I'm finally back on court, I just want to take each day one step at a time and try not to think about the outcome, but the process.”