Martina Salmon Photo: AAP / Photosport
Silver Ferns' shooter Martina Salmon could easily have crumbled in her first Test against Australia when one of her early shots was blocked by one of the fiercest defenders in world netball - instead she just kept shooting.
The Silver Ferns suffered a heavy 69-52 defeat at the hands of Australia on Friday night, thanks to a 24-11 final quarter blitz from the Diamonds.
Not only was it the Diamonds' highest ever score against New Zealand - the 24 goals were also Australia's highest score in a quarter ever against the Ferns.
Salmon, who only debuted for the Silver Ferns last month, was given her second start in the black dress in the opening game of the four-Test Constellation Cup series in Melbourne.
Australian goal keep Courtney Bruce, who has had some intense battles with goal shooter Grace Nweke over the last three years, rejected one of Salmon's first attempts at goal.
"When she blocked me I was kind of gutted at first but then I think the biggest thing for me as a shooter is to not dwell on that shot and to move on to the next and I think the more shots I put up it just kept giving me that extra confidence to keep going back to the post so I think that was important for me and definitely something I'm going to focus on for the next Test," Salmon said.
Playing in front of a nearly 10,000-strong crowd at the sold-out John Cain arena was another first for the 21-year-old.
"I think the adrenaline kicked in and I think I'm a player that likes to feed off the crowd a little bit but didn't have a lot of Kiwi supporters in the crowd but just how loud it was in there was pretty cool.
"Definitely quite intense, it was crazy out there, the nerves were there but I think as the game went on you start to get a bit more used to the defenders. The physicality was definitely there and I think they just have this extra mental edge to their game.
"For me personally so much learnings to take into this next game and just getting the clarity and the learnings I need from the midcourt and the coaches. Still got so much to work on but I'm here for it and there's a lot of challenges in this goal attack bib so just being confident, trusting myself and having that connection with Grace is really important."
In an encouraging performance, Salmon sunk 12 goals in the 51 minutes she had on court, which took some of the scoring load off Nweke.
Auckland-born Salmon moved to Australia when she was two and rose through the netball pathways.
Until recently Ameliaranne Ekenasio was the Silver Ferns starting goal attack for several years. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Salmon returned to New Zealand when she was 18 to further her netball dream but never imagined she would find herself playing for the Silver Ferns so quickly.
She was quickly reminded how the Australians like to play netball in the first Test.
"I was definitely expecting it but I think just mentally I just needed that extra little push and just to have that confidence to back myself that I can take on the body more and run my lines really hard. They are world class defenders and I think just backing myself was the most important thing."
Salmon headed to New Zealand in 2022 to be a training partner for the Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic, where she played one premiership game that season.
In 2023, she was a training partner in pre-season for the Sunshine Coast Lightning in Australia's top league, before she decided to move to Wellington.
Last year, Salmon had a break-out season in the ANZ Premiership after starting out as an injury replacement for the Pulse, which put her on the Silver Ferns' selection radar.
The goal attack bib has been wide open since former captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio took a break from international netball this year to spend more time with her young family.
Salmon could well follow a similar path to Ekenasio, who was born in Australia but moved to New Zealand when she struggled to get court time in the Australian league.
Salmon's parents and husband travelled to Auckland last month to watch her make her debut against South Africa. It was a special moment for the family after a tough 18 months with Salmon's mum battling breast cancer last year. Salmon says she's come through the worst of it and is doing well.
If Salmon was ever going to play international netball, her Mum always thought that would be in the green and gold dress.
"Growing up in the Australian pathway I think my Mum was kind of wanting me to play for the Aussies, but deep down I always knew that I wanted to play for the Silver Ferns so that definitely was a dream of mine and I kept that dream and it still feels surreal that I'm here. Pretty crazy to have my first Test against Aussie."
Her Samoan-raised nana was responsible for introducing Salmon to netball at the age of 12 and always wanted her granddaughter to play in the black dress.
"She's pretty much my why and was the reason why I got into netball and she always said to me when I was younger that she would love for me one day to play for the Ferns and I think I kept that with me ever since and always told myself that I'd reach that goal one day. I wish she could be here but I know that she's proud of me and looking down on me."
The second Test of the Constellation Cup is in Sydney on Wednesday, before the return leg to New Zealand.
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