The Aporia · Island spirit lives on in Tasmania Jewels' basketball debut

Chris Rowbottom

3 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 There was even a barb directed at the Islanders by then-league boss Leanne Grantham who, like many of her contemporaries, couldn't see a world where a Tasmanian team was sustainable.

2026-10-13 · assertive framing · Island spirit lives on in Tasmania Jewels' basketball debut

🔮 "I think a lot of people would go Luke Jackson," he said, when asked what his closest AFL player comparison would be.

2026-09-30 · assertive framing · For love, not money — Tasmania's elite eight ready to represent the map

🔮 Game not started, INA versus AUA Fri, 9 Oct, 6:30 pm, Game not started, SAF versus AUS Sun, 11 Oct, 2:50 pm, Game not started, AUW versus BAW Sun, 11 Oct, 3:00 pm, Game not started, INA versus AUA Mon, 12 Oct, 10:00 am, Game not started, HHW versus ACM Mon, 12 Oct, 10:00 am, Game not started, SSW versus BHW Mon, 12 Oct, 2:00 pm, Game not started, VIC versus SAM Mon, 12 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, MRW versus PSW Mon, 12 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, STW versus MSW Tue, 13 Oct, 10:00 am, Game not started, NSW versus TAS Tue, 13 Oct, 10:00 am, Game not started, SSW versus ACM Tue, 13 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, ASW versus PSW Tue, 13 Oct, 5:00 pm, Game not started, WAU versus QUE Tue, 13 Oct, 7:00 pm, Game not started, STW versus BHW Wed, 14 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, MRW versus MSW Wed, 14 Oct, 2:50 pm, Game not started, AUW versus BAW Wed, 14 Oct, 7:00 pm, Game not started, ASW versus HHW Fri, 16 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, BHW versus ACM Sat, 17 Oct, 10:00 am, Game not started, HHW versus PSW Sat, 17 Oct, 10:00 am, Game not started, STW versus MRW Sat, 17 Oct, 10:30 am, Game not started, SAM versus QUE Sat, 17 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, ACM versus MSW Sat, 17 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, SSW versus ASW Sun, 18 Oct, 10:00 am, Game not started, MRW versus HHW Sun, 18 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, BHW versus ASW Sun, 18 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, STW versus PSW Sun, 18 Oct, 7:00 pm, Game not started, SAF versus AUS Sun, 18 Oct, 7:00 pm, Game not started, SSW versus MSW Sun, 18 Oct, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUW versus NZW Mon, 19 Oct, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAM versus QUE Mon, 19 Oct, 11:30 am, Game not started, TAS versus VIC Mon, 19 Oct, 1:30 pm, Game not started, WAU versus NSW Tue, 20 Oct, 10:00 am, Game not started, versus Tue, 20 Oct, 2:30 pm, Game not started, versus Tue, 20 Oct, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUW versus NZW Wed, 21 Oct, 2:00 pm, Game not started, versus Thu, 22 Oct, 7:15 pm, Game not started, AUW versus NZW Sat, 24 Oct, 11:30 am, Game not started, TAS versus VIC Sat, 24 Oct, 5:00 pm, Game not started, WAU versus NSW Tue, 27 Oct, 7:30 pm, Game not started, SAF versus AUS Wed, 28 Oct, 11:00 am, Game not started, SAM versus WAU Thu, 29 Oct, 3:40 pm, Game not started, MRW versus STW Thu, 29 Oct, 7:10 pm, Game not started, MSW versus HHW Fri, 30 Oct, 11:30 am, Game not started, TAS versus NSW Fri, 30 Oct, 7:10 pm, Game not started, BHW versus SSW Sat, 31 Oct, 11:30 am, Game not started, QUE versus VIC Sat, 31 Oct, 3:40 pm, Game not started, ASW versus MSW Sat, 31 Oct, 7:10 pm, Game not started, PSW versus MRW Sun, 1 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, STW versus BHW Sun, 1 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, SSW versus HHW Mon, 2 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, MSW versus PSW Wed, 4 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, HHW versus MRW Thu, 5 Nov, 3:40 pm, Game not started, ASW versus BHW Thu, 5 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, STW versus PSW Fri, 6 Nov, 7:10 pm, Game not started, MSW versus SSW Cricket Australia to green light BBL privatisation despite opposition from NSW and Qld In short: Cricket Australia is set to proceed with the partial privatisation of the Big Bash League despite opposition from New South Wales and Queensland. States will be allowed to explore sell-offs of 49 per cent stakes in their BBL franchises.

2026-09-07 · assertive framing · Cricket Australia green lights BBL privatisation, defying power states

Also by Chris Rowbottom

For love, not money — Tasmania's elite eight ready to represent the map

2026-09-30 · ABC News (AU)

Cricket Australia green lights BBL privatisation, defying power states

2026-09-07 · ABC News (AU)

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

In short: It's been 30 years since Tasmania was booted from the women's national basketball league. asserted

Tasmania → boot → league

Now it's back, with the Tasmania Jewels to play their debut WNBL game in front of a sell-out crowd. asserted

Jewels → play → crowd

The Jewels play at MyState Bank Arena on Thursday night against the Geelong Venom. asserted

Jewels → play → Venom

But five years later, having won just three games in the previous two seasons, the Islanders were $45,000 in debt and resorting to rattling tins to survive. asserted

Islanders → win → tins

In a desperate bid to save the club, they launched a raffle to raise money. asserted

they → save → money

Frustrated, the league issued Tasmania an ultimatum: no pay, no play. asserted

league → issue → ultimatum

There was even a barb directed at the Islanders by then-league boss Leanne Grantham who, like many of her contemporaries, couldn't see a world where a Tasmanian team was sustainable. asserted

team → be → world

"You only have to look at the Devils last year, and the fact the AFL hasn't started up a team in Tasmania" she said at the time. asserted

she → have → time

"You just can't generate enough income running chook raffles and cake stalls." asserted

You → generate → raffles

Players, unsure of the club's survival, started to desert the island and sign elsewhere. asserted

Players → start → island

Fast forward 30 years, and the Tasmania Jewels — the state's resurrected WNBL team — are training out of a state-of-the-art facility and are backed by millions of dollars in private and public money. asserted

Jewels → resurrect → money

Former assistant coach Ross Park remembers the Islanders training and playing out of suburban recreation centres in the early '90s. asserted

Islanders → remember → 90s

He also recalls the fervour the Islanders created when they beat Nunawading in the WNBL championship game in 1991, and the lengths the public went to support the team. "There were a few fleeting moments where it looked like [the championship game] may not go ahead because it was over capacity and nobody was brave enough to say [to patrons], 'you have to leave'," Park said. uncertain

Park → recall → patrons

"So, two fire trucks came down from Hobart and stayed outside and maintained safety while the game proceeded. asserted

game → come → safety

" Debut game sold out Tasmania's passion for pro hoops still burns. asserted

passion → sell → hoops

The Jewels have already set a WNBL membership record of 3,349. asserted

Jewels → set → 3,349

Two days out from their home opener against Geelong, tickets for the 4,800-capacity MyState Bank Arena have sold out. Jewels coach Claudia Brassard believes in Tasmania, a hype exists that won't be found anywhere else. asserted

that → sell → Tasmania

I felt it the first week I was here," she said. asserted

she → feel → it

"I don't think you can find anything like this across the country. asserted

you → think → country

The support we have here is unique." asserted

we → have → ?

There are stories woven throughout the Jewels inaugural team, like that of centre Keely Froling, whose parents were brought together by basketball. asserted

parents → be → basketball

Froling's mum, Jenny, played on the championship Islanders, while Dad, Shane, played with the former men's NBL team, the Devils. On Thursday, she too will represent Tasmania. asserted

she → play → Tasmania

Pressure mounts on players to perform asserted

players → mount → ?

But amid the emotion and the weight of history, there's a scramble for the team to get physically ready for the home opener. asserted

team → be → opener

Just over a week out from the Jewels' first game, Brassard is getting to work, physically instructing her players on how to defensively "wall up" without committing a foul. asserted

Brassard → get → foul

She instructs her players to "walk through" the offensive player. asserted

She → instruct → player

"Don't jump, but wherever she goes, just walk through her," she tells her chargers. asserted

she → jump → chargers

"They'll never call that foul." asserted

They → call → foul

Brassard is also dealing with the prospect of her marquee point guard, Australian Opal Steph Reid, being underdone heading into the team's first game. asserted

guard → deal → game

Reid, the Jewels' offensive engine, spent a chunk of the pre-season in Germany with the national team for the World Cup — her absence compounded by a grumbly knee that is threatening to impact the early part of her season. asserted

that → spend → season

The Jewels also find themselves in a quandary over Kenyan star Madina Okot, who is currently competing in the WNBA finals with the Atlanta Dream. asserted

who → find → Dream

The dilemma: for every game the Dream win, a week with the Jewels is lost. asserted

week → win → Jewels

The more successful the Dream are, the longer the Jewels must wait for its star to arrive. asserted

star → wait → ?

There's a sense, too, among the club's higher-ups that the Jewels largely want for nothing. asserted

Jewels → be → nothing

It's now up to the players to perform. asserted

It → perform → players

Brassard feels that the pressure and the expectation have been earned. asserted

pressure → feel → ?

"We've put ourselves in that position. asserted

We → put → position

We embrace it. asserted

We → embrace → it

We focus on the work we've done, and we trust the work of ourselves and our teammates," she said. asserted

she → focus → ourselves

For Park and the legends of yesteryear, it's a pressure his Islanders could only have dreamed of. uncertain

Islanders → dream → yesteryear

…and 3 more, not listed.

Island spirit lives on in Tasmania Jewels' basketball debut

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