Tassie big sidelined

Tasmania JackJumpers big man Will Magnay is expected to be sidelined for at least the first few rounds of the NBL24 season, coach Scott Roth has confirmed.

Magnay suffered a foot injury playing overseas in the off-season, and now faces a delayed start. He already missed the entirety of the Hungry Jack’s NBL Blitz and played just 18 games last season due to injury. 

“I don’t know where he is at (specifically) to this point but he is a few weeks away,” Roth said on Tuesday.

The JackJumpers won all three games at the Blitz, despite Magnay’s absence, but Roth says they can’t get ahead of themselves, with a “great test” against Perth to start the season on the road.

“The blitz is really smoke and mirrors at the end of the day,” he said.

“You can walk out of there and not be as good as you think you are and not as bad as you think you are. For us, it was about working on chemistry and incorporating the guys that we’ve brought in.

“The results were the results and we know we have a tremendous amount of work ahead of us. We are very much an unfinished product at this point and we will see how we go (on Friday).

“Everywhere you go this year is going to be tough,” Roth said.

“Going on the road this year, you are going to have a difficult time trying to win but Perth is a great place to start and a great test for us.”

The NBL24 season tips off on Thursday night when Melbourne hosts South East Melbourne in a sold out clash from 7.30pm AEST. Watch every game live on ESPN via Kayo.