Rd 4 Preview | JackJumpers @ Hawks

The Tasmania JackJumpers hit the road again for their lone appearance of Round 4 of NBL27 when they take on the Illawarra Hawks fully aware of what the home team is capable of on their home floor.

The JackJumpers had a hectic schedule back in Round 3 of the 2026/27 season beating Melbourne United in a tight affair on Thursday night at MyState Bank Arena before backing up with the overtime victory in Brisbane against the Bullets on Saturday.

Now the JackJumpers are back in action this Friday night when they take on the Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong with tip-off set for 7:30pm.

It's a battle of the NBL24 and NBL25 championship winners with both teams looking to build some early season momentum in NBL27 to try and put themselves back in the hunt.

Tasmania come into the contest in second place on the NBL standings with a 3-1 record while Illawarra are in last place at 1-4.

However, the Hawks have played one game so far this season at home and that saw them produce a tremendous performance with the 114-92 victory against the Adelaide 36ers.

That means the Hawks will be looking to make the most of playing in front of their home fans for just the second time this season and that the JackJumpers will need to do a good job to avoid letting the crowd become a factor in the contest.

There's also always some added intrigue any time the JackJumpers come up against their former championship star Milton Doyle. He has now joined the Hawks this season having spent NBL26 at Melbourne United.

JackJumpers assistant coach Jarrad Weeks is fully aware of the talent the Hawks possess not only with Doyle, but Davo Hickey, Tyler Harvey, Kalen Martin, Sam Froling and Makur Maker.

He also knows they're a team that grows an extra leg when they play at home so will be mindful to do what they can to not let the Hawks crowd become a factor.

"They've got some great players, they're obviously very dynamic at home and they shot the ball very well against Adelaide in their last home game," Weeks said.

"We'll be looking at them probably trying to do that again and they thrive off their X-factor guys especially at home too, like Grida, Narkle and they are able to get a big defensive play or rebound and get their crowd behind them.

"So we'll be trying to play really solid, disciplined basketball to not allow them to feed off any of that energy that they like to do when they are playing at home."

Friday's game is the first time the two teams have met since the final game of the NBL26 regular season with the depleted JackJumpers losing to the defending champion Hawks at home by 33 points despite preparing for the Finals.

Prior to that and the Hawks also won at MyState Bank Arena 101-91 on January 24 along with winning in Wollongong 92-90, but the JackJumpers did win the first encounter in NBL26 back on September 27 with the 91-86 victory at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2026/27 | ROUND 4

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS v Illawarra Hawks

WIN Entertainment Centre, Friday October 9, 7:30pm

Watch live on ESPN via Disney+, Foxtel, Kayo or Fetch