Undermanned JackJumpers refuse to back down

Across five seasons in the NBL, the Tasmania JackJumpers have built a reputation on one simple mantra: write them off at your own risk.

Under Scott Roth and the rallying cry of Defend the Island, they stunned the league by reaching the Championship Series in their inaugural campaign, then claimed their first title in season three.

They have rarely boasted the biggest names or the deepest roster, but what they do have is an undeniable fighting mentality.

So even with just eight available players heading into a sudden death Play-In Qualifier against Melbourne United, history says the JackJumpers are right in the game.

When asked if Tasmania is leaning into the underdog label, Roth was typically unfazed.

“I don’t know about underdogs. We’re just going to show up. You can tag us however you want, but we’ll be there,” he said.

“We’re not apologising for finishing sixth. We’ll show up and give it a swing.”

Roth said the JackJumpers are embracing the moment with a nothing-to-lose mindset.

“For us, it’s about putting the right foot forward. It’s a free swing,” he said.

“No one’s expecting anything from us. Our guys will play without fear of failure and we’ll go out there and have some fun, enjoy ourselves. They’ve earned their way to get to that point and we’ll do the best we can with who is going to show up.”

Roth backed the club’s renowned culture to keep them firmly in the fight against United, despite being without Will Magnay with a toe injury, Bryce Hamilton with an ACL injury and Ben Ayre with a groin issue.

“Our strength is our culture. We built that day one when we were down for days that weren’t going to be great,” Roth continued.

“Culture is very easy to fall on when you’re winning, but really culture for us is when the standards are going to be maintained and accountability is going to be maintained.

“When it’s not so good, what do you do? A lot of teams will give in and go their different ways or complain, but our culture is the foundational things that we do down there and that’s what we maintain, whether it’s a good day or a bad day.

“We built this team on having some bad days and some bad weeks and being able to fall back on our standards. My job is to hold them accountable and that’s what I do.”

And as for the opposition, Roth says he has great respect for United and their coach Dean Vickerman, but ultimately, their focus would be on themselves.

“I’m sure they’re (United) going to want to play fast. That’s what they’ve tried to do against us year in and year out. But ultimately, no offence to United, I’m not worried about them at all,” he said.

“We have to worry about ourselves and how we show up and what we do before we get to this game.

“Whoever they roll out, they’ll roll out. My mission is to make sure our guys are as on point as possible and do what we can with our own guys. United will be United. Dean is a wonderful coach and they’ve got a great organisation over there.

“We play them enough. I don’t worry about them. I worry about our guys.

“To be quite honest, I’m worried about these next five days. If we get someone else hurt in these next five days, I don’t know what will happen at that point. How we balance that is really my concern. United is not.”

The JackJumpers take on Melbourne United on Thursday, March 5 at 7:30pm AEDT, live on ESPN. Tickets are available via Ticketek.