Shooting star Sienna Rushton hoping to inspire the next generation at Leeds Rhinos Netball

That first game, though, would prove a seminal moment in her young life.

“I remember being so inspired,” recalls Rushton. “When you watch the sport it is so fast and the players do things you just don’t think are possible, physically.

“I remember thinking ‘oh my God, I want to be able to do that’. That’s why people watch sport, they want to see incredible things. As a young girl I found it so inspiring.”

She was so moved that she joined a local club and six years later was playing in Superleague with Wasps. Today at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield she represents Leeds Rhinos, who she joined in 2020, hoping to be the one doing the inspiring.

“It’s amazing now to think that some of those girls I used to get autographs off, I’m now playing against them. It’s just bizarre,” she admits.

For anyone on the fence about whether to go along and watch today, Rushton’s story should serve as a motivation to do so.

She is certainly a player on the rise. When she signed with the Superleague debutant Rhinos for the 2021 season, she was primarily a goalshooting reserve to back up marquee acquisition Donnell Wallam.

But when Wallam went down injured in the second game, Rushton was thrust into the limelight.She coped admirably, helping win games, plaudits, and also earning selection for the England Roses Futures training programme last summer.

The transition from Dan Ryan to Tracey Robinson as head coach of the Rhinos has not altered her trajectory. While inclusion in the Roses squad for this summer’s Commonwealth Games might seem a long shot right now, her Rhinos form has been strong.

“Being a young player every time I step out onto the court I learn so much, it’s only my third season in Superleague,” she points out.

“I feel really cemented in our attacking combinations with Brie Grierson and Jade Clarke out front, they are incredible athletes and I feel like we’re firing at the minute. We’re working quickly and accurately together.

“I’m working really hard on the psychological side of my game, as a shooter that’s really important. The days when I’m free psychologically are the days I do better on court.”

So without revealing too much, how does that work?

“Blurring out the noise, because being young and new to the environment, when I step out on court I’ll be thinking about the crowd or other players, but what I need to be thinking about is my performance and the shot,” says the 20-year-old.

“So I have a word that brings me back to my processes and over-rides the noise just to keep me present. We do a lot of work on keeping in the moment.”

It has helped Rhinos win five of their opening eight games. They sit fifth ahead of today’s encounter with third-placed London Pulse, buoyed by last week’s victory over another top-four rival in Saracens Mavericks.

“That victory proved that we can be that top-four side we’ve been striving to be,” says Rushton of the four teams that will qualify for finals weekend in June.

“I think we’re really figuring ourselves out under pressure, there’s nothing that you can do at training that replicates game day exactly, but when we’re in those final quarters and we’re going goal for goal, we’re getting that experience of grinding out wins.

“It was a real watershed moment for the team last week, almost felt like a make-or-break situation.

“It’s about learning how to pick off those top-four teams because they are so experienced under pressure, they have solid defensive and attacking units but we did a lot of work psychologically last week about everyone having chinks in their armour and we just had to find the right ones and pick away at them and we did that successfully.”

Can they do that against London Pulse?

Rushton adds: “They are a young team which is exciting, but with that comes a lot of flair and inconsistency, but in a good way.

“We just need to play our game. I know we can pick them off, and we will.”