By her own admission, the 22-year-old made a lacklustre start to the ANZ Championship and a place in the world championship squad seemed a distant dream.
Her new combination with fellow Steel shooter Daneka Wipiiti was floundering and she was under enormous pressure to lift her game.
She may have read some fairly unflattering performance reviews. But to her credit she fought her way back from her form slump and has rediscovered her best netball in the past three or four weeks.
"You can't really let those kind of things get to you," she said.
"You've just got to focus on what your job is and, even if you are playing badly, you have to get on with it, suck it up and keep training really hard."
Griffin took a spell from international netball last year and said she felt lucky to be asked back.
"I was very excited. I was a bit unsure which way it was going to go.
At the top level you can never assume you will make it, with so many good players available for the Ferns. So I'm very stoked and happy and relieved. There are a lot of mixed emotions."
Griffin joins controversial inclusion Cathrine Latu as the only additions to squad which won a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in India last year.
While the news was good for Griffin it was not so flash for Wipiiti. She has been axed, along with utility Grace Rasmussen.
Wipiiti, however, may return if the Ferns are forced to jettison Latu. Netball world's governing body has ruled the Auckland-born player ineligible to play for New Zealand at the 2011 World Championship in Singapore because she played for Samoa at the last World Championship, in Auckland four years ago.
But Netball New Zealand has taken the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and has included Latu pending a positive outcome.
Griffin was reluctant to join the debate. She grew up playing netball with Latu, so she was excited for her friend but also disappointed for Wipiiti.
"It will be a tough time for her [Wipiiti]. We all train really hard and put so much into it. It is never a nice thing to hear when you don't make the cut. I'm definitely feeling for her."
The remainder of the squad picked itself. There were no surprises down the defensive end, with Casey Williams, Anna Scarlett, Katrina Grant and Leana de Bruin all given the opportunity to impress again.
De Bruin has arguably been the form defender in the ANZ Championship and Scarlett has also hit a rich vein of form and could be used as an impact player at wing defence.
Williams is a superb athlete and Grant's ability to hunt intercepts and force turnovers makes her a more than handy member on the bench.
The midcourt was clear-cut, with the experienced Temepara George and Laura Langman pivotal to New Zealand's prospects. Liana Leota has not had her best season but coach Ruth Aitken has stayed loyal, and wing defence Joline Henry has retained her place despite struggling with an ankle injury. Her inclusion is subject to medical clearance.
Silver Ferns
World champs squad
Casey Williams (captain), Temepara George (vice-captain), Leana de Bruin, Katrina Grant, Paula Griffin, Joline Henry, Laura Langman, Liana Leota, Cathrine Latu, Anna Scarlett, Maria Tutaia, Irene van Dyk.
