By Stephanie Smarrelli
For Kiera Austin, pulling on the green and gold at her first Commonwealth Games felt like a win long before the opening whistle.
Returning from an ACL injury, the Diamonds goaler arrived unsure whether her body would hold up, let alone whether she belonged among Australia's best.
“I honestly just felt like I was being dragged along for the ride,” Austin said.
“I was just happy to be there.”
The players around her during that first campaign left a lasting impression.
“The girls that were in the team for that 2022 Commonwealth Games were just insane,” she said.
“They were so talented and incredible.
“I feel so lucky now that I get a chance to hopefully replicate exactly what they did.”
With a few more years of experience in the Diamonds environment, Austin is preparing for her second Commonwealth Games with a very different mindset.
“I don't think I played any of the last three or four games in that first Games,” she said.
"To have the opportunity to hopefully play a little bit more, feel a bit more like a senior player and have had those experiences before, I feel a lot more prepared.”
The Games in Glasgow will hold extra significance for Austin.
Austin is ready to play a bigger role in the Diamonds' Commonwealth Games side.
“I'm excited that it's in Glasgow because my dad's Scottish,” she said.
"He's one of 13, so there's lots of family over there that have never watched me play netball before.
“I'm thrilled they'll be able to come along and watch."
Austin credits the Diamonds' high-performance program with giving her the confidence to embrace a bigger role.
She still laughs at the shock of her first national camp.
"I remember my first camp being like, 'Holy heck, this can't be normal,'" she said.
“Diamonds is a whole other step up in terms of training and expectations.”
The relentless pace and uncompromising standards challenged her in ways she hadn't experienced before but they have since transformed her game.
“The training sessions are so hard,” she said.
"We go at it the whole time, so when we do get to a game, that's actually the easy part.
“It’s when we're finally one whole team again, not training against each other.
“We've done all that hard training, and you get that extra little bit of breath when the ball's down the other end for the other team.”
Austin's excited to head over to Glasgow.
Austin said the program had shown her just how capable she was while demanding a new level of discipline and accountability.
“It teaches you a lot about what you're capable of,” Austin said.
"There's a whole other level of discipline and expectation.
"You really do have to perform for your teammates around you.”
Austin’s biggest transformation has been physical.
"From my first camp to now, I feel a lot more capable and prepared,” she said.
“Even getting my body ready for a Diamonds camp, in my first few years, my knee would just not cope with the load at all.
“But now I've found the little remedy to make sure I'm looking after my body.”
After arriving at her first Commonwealth Games just happy to be there, Austin now heads to Glasgow ready to embrace a bigger role.
"It's been awesome for my game," she said.
"I love every opportunity I get to play in the green and gold."
