Steph Talbot looks beyond ACL misfortune, as she works towards Opals return

As the Opals star continues her comeback, time away from the game has helped her find some fresh perspective on her future.

Credit: FIBA

It’s a cold morning inside an otherwise empty gym in Adelaide's western suburbs, and Steph Talbot looks like she has just been put through the hardest workout of her life. Her 6'2 frame is hunched over. Hands resting on hips, shoulders rising rhythmically, as she deeply breathes in and out. As she stands upright, lifting her shirt to wipe her brow, she swears. Loudly. It echoes throughout the gym. “I’m so unfit,” she laughs. “I’m not used to feeling like this.”

That feeling comes from her increasing the training load to a whole new level: a short series of sprints alternating between full and half court, with 90 second breaks between each set. It doesn't sound like much, but four months after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), Steph Talbot is slowly turning a corner.

“I'm a very impatient person, I just want to get in and do it, and sometimes I just need to slow down and let it heal, which isn't really my style,” she shared. “So, it's definitely been a big mental challenge.”