Firebirds great calls time on diamond-encrusted career

Queensland Firebirds great Kim Ravaillion will retire at the end of the Super Netball season.

The 30-year-old told her teammates on Tuesday, confirming the end of an 11-year playing career that began with a Diamonds Test cap at 19, before she'd even made her national league debut.

Ravaillion has captained the Firebirds for the past three campaigns and notched 150 caps this year after successfully returning from off-season spinal surgery.

A World Cup and Commonwealth Games champion, Ravaillion won back-to-back domestic trophies with the Firebirds in 2015-16, before a three-year stint as part of the inaugural Collingwood Super Netball team.

She then took a year off while pregnant with daughter Georgie, before returning to the Firebirds in 2021.

"I've spent over a third of my life as a professional netballer, but the time has come to close this chapter of my life," Ravaillion said.

"I don't fully know what my next move will be, but what I do know is I'm closing the door on one big thing to open the door for another.''

Fans can farewell Ravaillion at the Firebirds' final-round fixture, against the Vixens on Saturday.