"Real holy crap moment": JackJumpers' injury crisis worsens

The Tasmania JackJumpers’ incredible injury crisis shows no signs of slowing down, following more ailments during Wednesday’s Round 22 loss to Illawarra.

Already playing without Will Magnay, Bryce Hamilton, Sean Macdonald and Ben Ayre, the JackJumpers now face the prospects of playing Finals without young gun Nick Stoddart, who hurt his ankle at MyState Bank Arena on Wednesday.

Despite that reality, and the prospects of only suiting up ‘nine players for their Play-In game, JackJumpers coach Scott Roth has faith in his side’s fight and culture.

“We had a real holy crap moment when we suffered all those injuries a few weeks ago, and [now we’re] about to go through this all again,” Roth said during Wednesday’s post-game press conference.

“I appreciate our guys' fight and ability to stand up when it counts, because we were at a critical state in terms of relying on our culture.

“We'll wait to see who we play, and then the big thing for us is it's going to be a free swing for us. There'll be no pressure or expectations on us, so we have nothing to lose and have no fear of failure.”

Although Tasmania lost Wednesday’s game by 33 points, Roth believes there are elements from the game that they will learn from, ahead of their do-or-die Play-In Qualifier.

“We can take things from this game that we should not be doing,” he said.

“We can learn from that and not get stuck in bad habits.

“But two weeks is a long time, and we just have to move on from it [Wednesday’s defeat] and take those harsh lessons.”

The NBL26 season resumes on Thursday night with a double-header on ESPN, starting with New Zealand and Cairns at 5.30pm AEDT before the 32nd Throwdown at 7.30pm AEDT.