Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth fumes at fixture after injuries to key players including Sean Macdonald

Angry Tasmania JackJumpers coach Scott Roth has grave fears for his team’s season and the health of his players after suffering significant injuries during the team’s jam-packed pre-season. The JackJumpers trained at Warwick Stadium on Tuesday but guard Sean Macdonald didn’t participate after arriving on crutches and in a moon boot. Roth said Macdonald would be joined by other key players on the injury list before Thursday’s grand final re-match against Melbourne United to open HoopsFest at RAC Arena. The championship-winning coach refused to detail the other injuries but said he has no idea what his starting five will look like. The JackJumpers played games at the NBL Blitz on the Gold Coast on September 7 and 9, then flew to Singapore to represent the NBL in FIBA’s Intercontinental Cup. They had three matches there on September 13, 14 and 15 before flying to Perth the next day. Roth said it had been a disastrous time for the club and he couldn’t wait to complete the game against United so they could return home. “Everything I hoped would not happen happened to us. We have multiple injuries coming out of this two and a half weeks, which was my biggest fear and it’s all come true,” he said. “I’m extremely concerned about the roster in the next six to eight weeks, not just Thursday. “I’m devastated for the players because that’s what they get ready to do. What has transpired in my short time in the league is that every time a team has gone overseas or done something coming back, there has been a devastating effect of that starting the season. That was all of the things I was worried about when we left Hobart to go on this journey and it has all come true. “I think the concept is good but the amount of time to actually do it is not. We’ve just been on a sprint. We haven’t practised. “We literally played three games in a row in Singapore and never left the hotel and then we fly here to rest, not to actually practice. Then we sprinted to start the season to get to the Gold Coast, played two games right away and left. “It’s not so much the games, it is the timing in between everything to have time to recover and go slowly. We have played five games that were jammed down our schedule and it is too much.”