Since ending the 2006-‘07 season with the Cairns Taipans early this year, Martin has taken his fast and furious style of play to the New Zealand NBL.

And he’s taken it all the way to the playoffs.

At 13-5 for the season and second on the national ladder, Martin’s Waikato Pistons are looking evermore dangerous as the race for the New Zealand Championship heats up.

But Martin knows that come Saturday night, it’s do or die.

‘We’re really looking forward to it, we’ve been playing pretty well over the last couple of months and we’re happy with how we finished the season but we have a one-game knockout coming up and we either win or it’s all over,” he said.

“We play the (Nelson) Giants, who we played twice this year and defeated once.

“We have a lot of respect for them, they have probably the league MVP in Josh Pace and they’re really well-coached, so we’ll have to be aware of all that and be ready to play otherwise there’s a good chance we’ll lose.”

But not if Martin has his way.

The feisty point has been working hard all off-season to maximise his fitness and rediscover his aggression ahead of his South Dragons debut.

“I’ve been pushing myself pretty hard in the off-season, we all get into the gym and work hard and we push each other,” he said.

“Three of my teammates are going to other (Australian) NBL clubs so we make sure that we get in the gym and work as hard as we can pretty much every day.

“It’s always been my idea to come to New Zealand and work hard and Shane (Heal) told me before I came across that he wanted me to get my aggressive mindset back and to carry some good form into the Dragons, so that’s what I’ve been trying to do as well as trying to help my team win some games along the way.”

And for all his hard work, Martin knows it's only going to get tougher.

“From what I hear all the guys are working really hard (with the Dragons) and that’s to be expected with the culture of the club,” he said.

“My main focus at the moment is with the Pistons but once this is all said and done I’m looking forward to getting to Melbourne and working hard with all the boys.”