Williams proud to bring success to Cougar Family

Image credit: Michael Farnell (Sports Imagery)

Three straight NBL1 West Grand Finals and two championships is beyond anything Jewel Williams could have hoped for when she joined Cockburn Cougars, but it's the entire Cougar Family that makes it so special.

Williams was always an Eastern Suns junior and played the first 88 games of her SBL/NBL1 West career with Kalamunda before she joined the Cougars ahead of the 2022 season.

That was on the recruitment from then coach Tyrone Thwaites who saw an ability in Williams to be the point guard on a successful team for a long time, but more importantly to grow into a great leader and to help her develop on and off the court.

That's exactly what has happened with Williams now a two-time championship winner, a championship captain and a tremendous role model for any young girls which has been highlighted by her two inspirational and well-articulated post-Grand Final speeches at RAC Arena.

That's something that Williams admits she could have never done without being pushed out of her comfort zone initially by Thwaites, but what she takes more seriously than anything is providing an example of what's possible that she didn’t have when she was younger.

"It's not come without its challenges definitely but at Cockburn I've honestly been thrown in the deep end by Tyrone when I first came," Williams told The Hoop Hour on 91.3 SportFM.

"That's done wonders for me as a person in my off-court skills. Two, three years ago I definitely would not be getting up on the stage and doing even a scripted speech, and especially not an unscripted one.

"But I think it's bigger than me and I have to make sure that our team and girls and club get the recognition they deserve. It's not just about us going there and playing and getting the win, it's about the journey and sacrifice, and all the people that make it possible.

"And most important to me in the bigger picture is what's possible for young girls and women in sport.

"Growing up I didn’t have those females to look to so I think it's really important that the girls of the next generation have people that they can see. You can't be what you can't see so it's really important for them to have that."

Two championships, three Grand Finals

Williams, and fellow former Sun Jessie Edwards, were sold a vision of what Thwaites was attempting to build with the Cougars women's program but it was still just a way off dream when she first arrived in 2022.

However, the signs were there in that first season and now over the last three years even with Russell Hann stepping up as coach in 2025, Cockburn have become the benchmark team in the women's competition.

They have made three straight Grand Finals and won championships now in 2023 and 2025, and went ever so close in 2024 against the Rockingham Flames at RAC Arena.

Now the Cougars of 2025 have completed the perfect season winning all 23 NBL1 West games including Saturday night's Grand Final against the Warwick Senators to join only the Willetton Tigers of 1999 having done that in the women's competition.

When Williams reflects on the last four years now, what she feels is the one key point is the way the entire Cockburn community all pulls in the one direction, and supports each other.

"Who would have ever thought that this is how it would have gone. It's not like when I moved that Cockburn was a 23-0 team so I wasn’t moving to a club just for wins or anything like that," Williams said.

"It was solely based on community, culture and personal development, and then basketball development.

"So it is still a little bit surreal but being so successful it can be easy to let it slip and you just think it is how it is and you'll always be a winning team, but thinking back to when I first moved to Cockburn, we had to build this success from the ground up.

"I feel very grateful to be able to be part of it and it doesn’t come without having great support with the staff and teammates. That all comes back to the culture piece too and that's a big thing for all clubs and all sports.

"There needs to be a massive focus on culture because the better that is the better your team is, the better you'll play and the better your community engagement is."

Making Cougar Family more than a slogan

Initially when Cockburn started to run with the Cougar Family tag line and pasted it all over Wally Hagan Stadium and all over their social media and branding, some on the outside might have been sceptical about it.

The reality is that it was never designed to appeal to anybody outside of the Cockburn community and it has turned into something that was just a catch phrase to something that is a real reality.

Especially with the women's program, the players all connect with the young players around Cockburn and spend plenty of time coaching and training them, and that in turn leads those youngsters coming to support the team on game nights with the families.

It's created a special bond with the team and the entire Cougar Family and it's something Williams couldn’t be prouder to be part of.

"A lot of people think that the Cougar Fam is very cliché and a bit cheesy, but it's really not. It really is like a big family and when I moved I was so nervous," Williams said.

"I'd never played for another club and had never gone through that transition, but we're just welcomed with wide open arms by the community. The way that we can show them how much we appreciate that is by giving back to the kids and whoever else that we can.

"It makes a big difference and we wouldn’t have half as many fans at our games if we didn’t engage with them whether it's young girls, parents or anyone. I think it's very important to them that we don’t seem like we are too good for them or above them.

"We love to get back into the community and we want to make sure that the people who turn up or volunteer or just support us that they are part of that success too because we can't do it without them."

Wanting to play with younger sister

Williams herself is still only 24 years of age but has got 174 games under her belt already in the league given she started so young when she was a teenager back at the Eastern Suns.

Now having won championships and being a championship captain, and even had a taste of the WNBL back in her earlier days, there's not that many things left to tick off on her basketball list.

One of them is to share an NBL1 West court for the Cougars with younger sister Jordan though.

"I'm always onto her and telling her she needs to keep training and to keep getting better because I don't know how long I can keep going so she has to get there sooner or later," Williams said.

"It's very tough especially in a Cockburn jersey because we have a lot of depth and our juniors are very good coming through so it's hard to say when she might get a chance.

"It depends on how much work she's willing to put in but hopefully it can happen in the next few years, but she definitely has her work cut out for her.

"I would love it to happen, though, and that's my No. 1 dream of basketball is to play on the team with my sister. That would be so wholesome and just amazing to be honest so hopefully one day. I'll keep my fingers crossed."