For Hanrahan, 2026 is already shaping as a breakthrough year. After being part of the Capricorn Claws environment as a training partner last season, the 17-year-old has now stepped up into the Ruby North squad proper while also earning selection in the Queensland Firebirds Futures Academy (QFFA) regional program in Rockhampton.
Taken together, the two opportunities represent much more than a strong start to the year. They are the latest reward for an athlete who has had to work through a serious wrist injury, rebuild confidence in her game and keep sight of the bigger ambitions driving her forward.
“I was so excited when I got the email,” Hanrahan said of her Ruby North selection. “Very, very excited for it to go to the next level, because I got to do all the training last year and obviously see the girls do it. So I’m really excited to get on the court this year and have more of an impact.”
That excitement has only been amplified by the way Ruby North has captured the imagination of the local netball community. Hanrahan saw that up close last year as the Claws became a talking point well beyond the court.
“Even when you go to school the next day, everyone was talking about the Claws and everything,” she said. “I’ve never really experienced anything like that.
“Even just being on the bench, how loud it was and the atmosphere, and being able to play with a crowd in the stands, it was really, really cool.”
For a young athlete coming through the Central Queensland system, that visibility matters. It turns a pathway from something abstract into something tangible. For Hanrahan, seeing Ruby North up close helped make the next level feel real.
“I think it’s made it more realistic that I can make the team,” she said.
That sense of belief has also been strengthened by her experience in QFFA. One of her major goals coming out of State Titles last year was to earn a place in the program, and she said the impact was immediate.
The benefits have been both physical and mental. Training in a higher-performance environment, while also working closely on the specifics of her role, gave her a level of confidence she had not always carried into important trials.
“It’s made me definitely much more confident, especially going into the trials for Ruby North,” she said.
“We’d already been doing about three months of the Firebirds training before that. I think it made me just feel much more confident and stronger going onto the court, actually knowing that I could hold my own against them.”
That confidence has been hard-earned.
Four years ago, Hanrahan injured her wrist at a State Age carnival – a setback that would become far more complicated than first expected. Repeated visits to doctors initially failed to identify the real issue, and it was not until much later that a Triangular Fibrocartilage Complex (TFCC) tear was diagnosed.
“They kept saying that nothing was wrong,” Hanrahan said.
“That went on for about a year and a half, and then finally I found out and I had to get surgery on it.”
While the physical recovery eventually came, Hanrahan said the toughest part of the experience was mental. Being away from the court during an important stage of her development forced her to confront how much the game really meant to her.
“It was definitely quite tough mentally not being able to be on the court,” she said. “Especially when watching trials and teams are being selected.”
The injury also forced her to make a major adjustment to her game. Unable to properly use her right hand for a long period, Hanrahan had to change her shooting style and learn to adapt.
“I couldn’t shoot for two years on my right hand, so I had to shoot with my left hand because I couldn’t bend my wrist,” she said.
Looking back now, she can see the experience as a turning point.
“Definitely having that three months off was like, ‘Okay, what am I going to do now?’” Hanrahan said. “It just made me realise how much I actually do love it, and how much I want to go back and actually play for fun, not just because why not.”
That renewed clarity is shaping the way she sees the future. Hanrahan is in Year 12 at The Cathedral College in Rockhampton but she is already thinking about what the next step could look like once school is finished. A move to Brisbane for university and a chance to keep playing at a high level is firmly in her sights.
“After the Ruby North series, hopefully getting signed next year by a Brisbane team in the Ruby competition, so I can go to uni there and still keep playing netball at a really high level, is the main goal,” she said.
For now though, the focus is on making the most of what is in front of her: a first full Ruby North season with the Capricorn Claws and the chance to keep developing through QFFA without having to leave home just yet.
“Being able to do it in Rocky and just be able to go from school straight to the QFFA training, it definitely makes a big difference,” Hanrahan said. “Knowing that you have the same opportunities as the Brisbane girls now as well.”
That may be the biggest shift of all.
What once felt distant now feels possible. What was once interrupted by injury is moving again. And for Hanrahan, that combination of resilience, opportunity and ambition is turning 2026 into a year of genuine momentum.
