Tasmania prepare to jump start season again after COVID recovery

Tasmania JackJumpers are eager to return to the court next Wednesday in what will be a 'bonus' game for Tasmanian basketball fans, after an interrupted start to 2022.

Two games were postponed after eleven positive COVID-19 results within the group, before a call was made on Tuesday to postpone a further two games to allow the affected players and coaches to return to full performance capacity.

“I’m very proud, everybody has handled it in the right manner and we’ve always said we’d put the welfare of the players first” CEO Simon Brookhouse said.

“Our coaching staff and strength and conditioning staff have been fantastic dealing with this. The players have been really positive, they know it’s some short-term pain to get through the rest of the season.

“We’re just raring to get out there again and build the momentum we had started to build as a team and hopefully we can get on and get some wins in the near future”.

Players are required to undergo a full medical examination following the mandatory 7-day isolation period to be ‘medically cleared’ to return to practice and playing.

“You can’t expect guys who have been isolated to hit the court after just two days practice so it’s about conditioning them and protecting them against any lingering effects of the virus and not only that, but potential soft tissue injuries by not being absolutely conditioned to an NBL game” Brookhouse said.

“It hasn’t been a bad thing to have it hit us all at once. It’s actually better than two or three this week and then two or three next week, to have everybody go through it together, they’re bonding well, they’ve done lots of zoom meetings together. They’re really upbeat, they’re just eager to get back on court”.

Tasmania JackJumpers are expected to have the full squad available for the new Round 7 fixture against New Zealand on January 19 at MyState Bank Arena.

“We’re really comfortable with where we’re at and given the situation across the League, come next Wednesday we’ll be in a really strong position to hopefully get a win against the Breakers” Brookhouse said.

Despite being played in Hobart, the game will be a New Zealand Breakers home game with the team currently based in Australia due to border restrictions.

“It will be a little bit unusual but New Zealand have been great. We need to help the Breakers, they’ve had two years on the road and I wouldn’t wish that upon anybody. The League are assisting them to play 14 home games in Australia but we know it’s really difficult for their team as well as their members and sponsors back in New Zealand.

The game is an additional fixture at MyState Bank Arena, which will be fully ticketed. JackJumpers members and sponsors will have pre-sale access to tickets before they go on sale to the general public.

“I hope our fans can pack out the Arena as usual and generate some support and revenue for them. It’s more NBL action in Tasmania and given we’re such a high membership-based club, this is another opportunity for other people to come to our games that may not have got tickets previously”.

Tasmanian fans will still get the full JackJumpers 14 home game experience with the postponed home games against Sydney Kings and New Zealand Breakers to be rescheduled as soon as possible.

“We’re fortunate with the Arena, we’ve got capacity to move games around so all our members will be able to attend the next rescheduled game or the general public can get refunds for games if they can’t attend the new dates”.

JackJumpers were building strong momentum before the forced break, narrowly going down to reigning champions Melbourne United on New Years Day. Guard Josh Adams finished with 23 points – the most by any JackJumpers player this season.

The home side led by as many as 13 at one stage in the 2^nd quarter, before going down by 4. But Brookhouse believes the rewards will come for the new team’s relentless efforts.

“I think people realise it’s very difficult in your first season. Our squad are working really well together, they’ve bonded really well and we’ve been competitive in every game. Its not too much of a stretch to suggest we could be 4-2 if things went our way. There’s certainly things to clean up on our offensive end but I think you’ll see that higher scoring rate in the weeks to come”.  

Upcoming games

(A) WED 19^th January 7.30pm - New Zealand Breakers v Tasmania JackJumpers – MyState Bank Arena

(A) FRI 21^st January 7.30pm – Brisbane Bullets v Tasmania JackJumpers – Nissan Arena

(H) SUN 23^rd January 5.30pm – Tasmania JackJumpers v Perth Wildcats – MyState Bank Arena

(H) FRI 28^th January 7.30pm – Tasmania JackJumpers v Sydney Kings – MyState Bank Arena

The NBL is likely to release the next phase of the fixture in the coming days.