Kiera Austin’s rise from nervous debutant to Diamonds World Cup final MVP

So if the latter were revealing in a different way, what did she see?

“A very nervous, skinny, pasty girl that was just so excited to be there, but probably needed a couple of more years under her belt, I think!’’ Austin says of that debut in COVID quarantine conditions in Christchurch the Australians lost 3-1 under first-time coach Stacey Marinkovich.

“It was a great experience at the time. It really told me what international netball is like and it really kind of formed that next path forward for me to really get strong in the gym, put in the extras.’’

The sequel to that early-2021 story involves Austin returning to Super Netball’s Giants and promptly rupturing her ACL. Yet, as traumatic as it was, the 26-year-old reflects on that tour, and period, with fondness now that the view is coming from a much healthier place.

“At the time I wasn’t a happy athlete and I was probably a lot weaker and a lot lighter than I am now, there were a lot of signs that I just didn’t notice, and when I did my ACL it was kind of that blessing in disguise,’’ she says.

“I needed time away from the sport, and it really taught me that determination and that hunger to get back out there.

“It reminded me why I love the sport in the first place and I was even looking back at photos of it the other day, just thinking how young and naive I was, just thinking “Oh, yep, we’ll be right, I’ve got all the support around me’.

“But international netball is just a whole other kettle of fish. It’s crazy to see I guess it’s only two years ago but it feels like a lifetime ago and, yeah, happy with the growth.’’

Speaking from Invercargill ahead of Thursday night’s game three of the current Constellation Cup, Austin’s now-flourishing 23-Test career resumed at last year’s Birmingham Commonwealth Games and was highlighted by an MVP off-the-bench role in August’s World Cup final defeat of England in August.

Having established herself as the Diamonds’ starting goal attack since vice-captain Steph Wood’s subsequent retirement, Austin’s shooting combination with Cara Koenen has been a highlight of Australia’s 2-0 domination of the series so far. Rarely has she played better.

“Obviously it was a big opportunity for me to step into that bib and I think I just wanted to go out there and have fun,’’ she says.

“I think that’s been the key for me is I’ve actually really enjoyed this tour and just actually enjoying playing netball and playing some good netball with the girls around me; not putting too much pressure on myself.’’

*****

A trap for young players and even older ones, Austin knows, is to be on a constant quest to prove you’re good enough. To build up each chance to be bigger than it is, or needs to be.

“I think being in Comm Games and the World Cup team I probably was still in that mindset a little bit of ‘Oh, if I get the chance to go on, I’ve gotta do the best I can to prove myself’.

“But it definitely shouldn’t be that. You’re at this level to just go out there and do what you do well, so I think that’s been a real shift in my mindset the last couple of years — certainly since doing my knee, as well, and coming back from it.’’

From, indeed, a long way back. At the Commonwealth Games that came exactly 452 days after that ACL tear, Austin’s focus had been just to play again, and she thus treated Birmingham selection as a bonus, Still, once there, Wood and Gretel Bueta’s understudy and a self-described “ball of nerves” was acutely aware of her own relative lack of strength.

The World Cup was the second-year Vixen’s next major international mission. She wanted it badly; not just making the 12, but to be ready when called. And, after some shaky moments in the preliminary loss to the Roses, Austin grasped the moment when summoned to partner Sophie Garbin late in the second quarter of the gold medal game.

While still nervous when the summons came from Marinkovich, the smooth goal attack with the elite defensive skills was determined and prepared to inject more than just fresh legs.

“The first movement I did I knew it was really strong, I just demanded it, and even running into the circle I was yelling at Paige (Hadley) to give me the ball, and those little behaviours are the difference I can feel,’’ she recalls.

“So it probably was a really big step in my evolution. It was something that I’m really glad happened and was kind of able to carry that mindset into these games.

Hopefully for the last two as well.’’

In an extensive interview with CODE early in her comeback, Austin spoke of the messages on her bathroom mirror that included one from Vixens’ coach Simone McKinnis to UNLEASH THE BEAST, so as to remind herself to play with ferocity and intensity as well as her innate grace and flair.

It’s a theme she has continued while becoming a more confident player who is slightly introverted by nature and has tended to go about things in her own quiet way.

“You go out there and you can’t be passive about what you do. You can’t think ‘Ooooh, is this the right spot to go to?’. You’ve just got to go hard at it and go with intent, and even if it isn’t the right movement to do you’re opening up space for someone else on the court.

“And I think the more you have that mindset, the more you’re just gonna run around and not actually think about all the little things you’re doing wrong. You’re just gonna be creating space for everyone else on the team, as well.’’

The shift in the past year-and-a-bit has been palpable, for various reasons. One is that, finally about to graduate from the medical science degree that took her seven years part-time, Austin can devote more to the small things that can make a big difference.

*****

Coach Marinkovich told CODE before the series started that motivation was not an issue for the reigning world, Commonwealth, Quad Series and Constellation Cup champions in the context of one unflattering statistic.

“All you have to say to our girls is that we’re one and six in terms of win-loss in New Zealand and I think that’s a real reality check as to what goal we’re trying to strive for,’’ Marinkovich said of the record across the ditch during her post-2020 tenure.

“We need our brand of netball to be able to stand up anywhere, any time, against any opposition and style of game, and I think that challenge is still well and truly there and the girls recognised it straight away.’’

They also started purposefully in Australia, winning in Melbourne by 10 goals and in Brisbane on Sunday by nine. Koenen (190 centimetres) and Austin (a slightly deceptive 186cm) have combined for all but nine of the 120 minutes in a tall shooting tandem also characterised by slick ball use and a growing understanding.

“It’s super fun playing with Cara. I think she just reads the space really well. She’s obviously quite elusive on the baseline and I think we’ve just really found each other’s timing these last couple of games; it’s fun to see how far we’ve come from our debut together two years ago. I just think we’re two totally different athletes.

“It’s a really nice combination that we’re forming, and I do love a bit of movement in the circle. Frees up a bit of space for me to hopefully put the jets on and get in there a bit sooner than what I do sometimes!’’

Garbin, her soon-to-be Vixens’ shooting partner, offers a more robust holding style. “I also love playing with Soph,’’ Austin says. “We obviously haven’t seen a whole bunch of her yet (this series) and I think she’s kinda like our secret weapon hiding in the wings a little bit.

“But she’s super-duper strong on the court, it makes it so easy for me to just feed the ball into her, but it also makes it very clear for me to have that kind of sweeping role, and although I hate seeing a ball fly over my head, I know that it’s a good drive because it must have opened her up really well …

“She’s such a weapon out there and hopefully we get to see her in the next two games, as well.’’

The first, in Invercargill, is less about shrugging the winning-in-New Zealand monkey off the back and more foot-on-the-throat time, says Austin, who expects emerging Silver Ferns’ superstar Grace Nweke to play extra minutes than the 30 she was managed through in Brisbane while returning from a patellar tendon injury.

“We want to really just show them what our brand of netball is like and come away with a win on their soil in front of their fans as well,’’ Austin says. “And if we do get that series win I think it does offer a bit more flexibility to have more combinations as well so there’s heaps of motivating factors for a lot of us.

“But I think just beating New Zealand in New Zealand will be the icing on the cake.’’

****

For Austin, it’s also another opportunity to show what she can bring; convinced that a 60-game Super Netball career has “really only scratched the surface” of what she can do at domestic level, too.

“I’ve had two years now of being back probably stronger than what I was before I did my knee, and mentally fitter as well. I’m at a point where I’m just a very happy athlete, and that’s such an important part for me actually going out to play good netball.’’

More Coverage

SSN player moves: Every recruitment and release so far

Linda Pearce

Players challenge NA claims as dispute heads to mediation

Linda Pearce

On her camera reel are reminders, if any are needed, of what the deep-thinking Diamond went through during rehab, how far she has come, plus the little moments to be proud of, and the perspective accumulated along the way.

There are a couple of favourite snaps, though, from post-match in Cape Town, and Austin’s voice wavers, her emotions obvious, when she mentions the obvious pride on her father Ian’s face after the Diamonds’ success.

The other is with sister Emily. “She also flew over for the World Cup, and just the amount of waves those two had ridden with me is just insane,’’ Austin says. “I think they’re the two photos that remind me ‘Oh, that’s why you do it’. So those two, yeah.’’