How to watch & talking points: Tasmania v Illawarra

24 Jan 2026

tasmania jackjumpers

illawarra hawks

Two desperate teams, Tasmania and Illawarra, lock horns in a must-win Round 18 fixture at MyState Bank Arena.

Tasmania JackJumpers (6th) v Illawarra (8th)
Saturday, January 24, 8pm AEDT
MyState Bank Arena

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Talking points

Next man up
Playing gritty and 'in the mud' is the JackJumpers' way and they're going to have to lean into that even more in the coming weeks, as their injury toll mounts.

While still holding onto sixth spot on the ladder, Scott Roth's side will be without bigs Will Magnay (toe) and Majok Deng (concussion), as well as guard Sean Macdonald (knee) for Saturday's crucial clash with Illawarra.

Not to mention Bryce Hamilton (knee) is a game-time decision for Saturday, meaning the likes of Tyger Campbell, David Johnson, Josh Bannan and Nick Marshall are going to have even more responsibility placed on their shoulders.

Hawks' response
Illawarrra's championship defence hangs by a thread, with just nine games remaining.

If they are going to make a late Finals push, Justin Tatum's side, who have lost three straight, need to start stringing some wins together, especially against one of the teams they are chasing, Tasmania.

The Hawks need the likes of JaVale McGee and Sam Froling to dominate against an under-manned Tasmania frontline.

What they're saying

Tasmania coach Scott Roth on his team bouncing back against Illawarra:
“We’ll show up and do our best at home, and work as hard as we can.

“We have some things we can do very well, we’ve just had no time to practice with a smaller lineup and actually execute anything since we got back from Perth. We’ll have to put our coaching hats on.”

Illawarra coach Justin Tatum on his side's resolve:
"What we've been through this year will definitely give the players a picture of, 'hey, we were 3-25 a couple of years ago and ended up 14-14 after that, and we won the championship'.

"You just have to have patience and understand what you went through, and hopefully, the next year, you don't try to go through it again, and find a way to get better at it.

"I think the guys who are returning as contracted players next year, whatever we finish out, will learn from those mistakes and hopefully nip it in the bud early."