Southland Sharks captain Martin here to play

NICOLE GOURLEY/Southland Times

STRAIGHT TO THE POINT: Southland Sharks new arrival and captain Luke Martin will be helping the the Sharks target their first NBL win when they take on Hawke's Bay in Napier tonight.

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With the Southland Sharks in desperate need of a win, skipper Luke Martin has arrived in town right in the nick of time.

Martin will make his Sharks debut in tonight's NBL match against Hawke's Bay in Napier after finishing up his commitments in the Australian NBL with the Wollongong Hawks – who lost the grand final series to Perth.

The 29-year-old Australian has been touted as the man to turn the Sharks' fortunes around, but Martin said he was more focused on playing his natural game and trying to help lead the side to its first NBL win.

"I'm definitely not a saviour," he smiled.

"I'm just going to try and come out and play well for the team. We've got some guys who can play. When big Martin (Iti) gets healthy, I think we've got some pretty good pieces."

Martin was the first player to sign for the Sharks when they were accepted into the league in December. The experienced point guard qualifies as a local through his Kiwi father and has a sound knowledge of the New Zealand league, having previously played for Manawatu, Waikato and Wellington during the past six seasons. He is also a proven winner – having won two Australian championship rings with the Sydney Kings and being part of the Australian Boomers squadthat toured China and Japan in 2004.

Tonight, the Sharks play a Hawke's Bay team which they pushed all the way in their opening match of the league, two weeks ago, before losing in overtime. Martin said the Sharks had to gain revenge on the Hawks to avoid slipping to a zero-win-three-loss record to start the season.

"We've got to get a win," he said. "We're already off to an 0-2 start and we can't slip up. It's going to be a tight league this year. We don't want to fall too far behind."

Martin will team up in the Sharks' backcourt with talented American guard Mike Rose, who is averaging 25 points a game in the Southland Sharks' first two matches.

He said he had seen Rose play for the Melbourne Tigers in the Australian NBL and was looking forward to playing alongside him. "He's a great shooter of the ball, so it's going to be fun getting in the lane and knowing that you have that option out on the wing."

The Sharks have played well in patches in their first two games in the NBL, but really need to string a consistent four-quarter performance together if they are to beat the Hawks.

Martin liked the talent the Sharks has assembled and was confident they could get their season back on track if they could pick up that all-important win tonight.

"We have some talented guys and some big boys ... We've just got to go out there and play.

"I don't think there's any team we can't beat on our night, when we are all playing well."

Tipoff in Napier today is at 7pm.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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