RETURNING to Cockburn was something Dan Thomas always wanted to do and it couldn’t have turned out much better personally or for the team so far in 2016 as he is two wins from a championship with the Cougars that would mean the world to him.

While the experienced, tenacious and productive point guard has played with the Geraldton Buccaneers, East Perth Eagles and Mandurah Magic since last playing with the Cougars in 2008, it was the club he always saw himself returning to and finishing his career with.

But Thomas didn’t return in 2016 to Wally Hagan Stadium to fade quietly into the sunset. He still had plenty to offer and has shown that all season long and the 31-year-old is far from ready to retire yet but that elusive championship is what continues to drive him.

After finishing the regular season on top of the Men's SBL standings, the Cougars prevailed in the quarter finals over the Perry Lakes Hawks in three games and then went to Geraldton on Saturday night of the semi finals claiming a tremendous 100-96 victory over the Buccaneers.

Men's SBL Player Column – Rhett Della 
Week 1 Men's SBL Semi Final wrap 

That means that the Cougars now have two opportunities this weekend starting on Saturday night at Wally Hagan Stadium to win a second game over the Buccs to qualify for next Saturday night's Grand Final.

Thomas has had a tremendous SBL career but the only thing missing is a championship and winning one with this Cougars team that includes Rhett Della who has also returned to Cockburn in 2016 would mean everything.

"Sheldon's already won one, so bugger him but for myself and Rhett it means everything. That's why we came back here because we saw what they were putting in place and we knew we would have a chance of doing something special," Thomas said.

"For me winning a championship is everything and from day one it's been about winning something that meant so much to the organisation and the club. It would mean everything to me if we were able to achieve it."

Having spent several seasons playing in Geraldton with the Buccs, Thomas knows how much they pride themselves on winning at home with the whole town getting behind them.

That's why he understands how significant the win for the Cougars was on Saturday night and he enjoyed hearing the silence of almost 2000 Buccs fans once the final buzzer sounded.

"It's huge for us for the simple fact that finishing first, you kind of think you have home court advantage but when you play a country team, you lose that first game advantage. It was a tough task but we got the job done and now we just have to win one out of two at home," he said.

"It was good heading back to Gero. Obviously that's always been a place close to my heart playing up there when I first came back from Europe and it's always awesome with a great atmosphere, a great club and great people.

"But going up there and winning and hearing the hush of the crowd at the end of it was absolutely beautiful. I know they are going to come out hard this next game, though, and we have to try to work even harder than we have in the past if we are going to beat them."

While Thomas has had an interesting journey since leaving the Cougars in 2008 playing with the Buccs, Magic, Eagles and then Buccaneers again, he always wanted to come back to Cockburn.

It worked out ideally that Della was coming back as well in 2016 and that Alex Prince was another familiar face for Thomas to reacquaint himself with. The timing seemed right and it's hard to argue with the results.

"Coming home was always the plan at some stage. Myself and Rhett have been good mates since we were real young, and Alex Prince and I have known each other since we were six years of age," Thomas said.

"I've always spoken about coming back and finishing my career here and it was just all about timing, family, a house and everything.

"It seemed like the right time this year and everyone is thinking I'm going to retire at the end of this year, but barring injuries I can see myself going on another two or three years to help out some of the young guys and push them through."

Thomas has had a tremendous season running the point for a supremely talented team with big man Marcus Goode along with the dangerous Gavin Field, Najee Lane and Julian Pesava, and veterans Della and Sheldon McIntyre.

But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing with a late season hamstring injury that again flared in the final game of the regular season where the Cougars beat the Joondalup Wolves to secure top spot.

However, he has now got through four playoff games fine and is enjoying the team he is helping to set up as point guard.

"Against Joondalup in that last game we kind of had to make the decision if I was going to push it through and possibly do more damage or just rest it, and coach decided to rest it and that was the best thing for it," he said.

"When I first started up at Gero I had to take a bit of a scoring role and I was shooting the ball a lot more, but these last few years I've had a lot more talent around me and especially this year having Gav, who likes to catch and shot, Najee, who likes to penetrate and get into the middle, and a dominant big man like Marcus has just been phenomenal.

"We get to run the offences and the assists might not look like they are over the top, but it's about getting the ball in the right places and recognising mismatches. Our record speaks for itself, I think we've done pretty well."

There are plenty of familiar faces with the Buccs opponents that the Cougars are taking on in the semi finals, but the one Thomas has the utmost respect and admiration for is captain Mat Wundenberg even if his elbows are lethal.

"Honestly I love playing against Mat Wundenberg. He was my captain while I was up there, I know how hard he works and I know how much winning a championship means to him." Thomas said.

"Obviously I don’t match up on him, but seeing how much hard work he puts in on and off the court, it's a special thing for me after having played against him in practice all the time he was hard and would give you elbows all the time, and now you get the same thing playing against him."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Mick Cronin