Jayda thriving back home at Senators

Featured image: @drewmolodstov.media

Jayda Clark is fresh off quite the weekend having played against sister Emma and then helping Warwick Senators end a remarkable NBL1 West streak while starring back home following a standout WNBL season.

It hasn't all been a smooth ride for Clark along the way even though she had the sporting genes from a young age with her grandad playing Test cricket for Australia and being a Sheffield Shield winning coach for Western Australia.

Her dad also played cricket for WA and in the AFL for the Fremantle Dockers, and she has always been one of the brightest basketball talents coming through the ranks in WA and then attending the Centre of Excellence.

That led into a WNBL opportunity at the UC Capitals but then tragedy struck and she suffered a serious knee injury and it was a long road back to full health which didn’t eventually happen until the 2025 NBL1 West season.

She starred with the Perry Lakes Hawks before a return to the Caps where she had a superb WNBL season and now is having a brilliant start back home at the Senators this NBL1 West season with those knee issues starting to become a distant memory.

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While it goes without saying that the 20-year-old would have preferred to not have that horror injury run just as her career was getting started, if you look for positives in any situation, and Clark can definitely see how much she learned from the whole experience.

"To be honest the last couple of years since my knee have felt like a bit of a blur, everything has just happened so fast," Clark said.

"That injury taught me a lot, and I’ve definitely become a completely different player than what I was before that and I’ll give all credit to my amazing support network and WAIS for helping me through that whole period, and still to this day.

"I’m feeling a lot more confident in my abilities, and it’s a nice feeling seeing progress in the things I’ve been working hard on."

Returning home to Warwick

Clark grew up playing with the Senators and even made her debut in the West Coast Classic season of 2020 aged just 14 when it started before leaving at the end of 2021 for the Centre of Excellence.

While she did return to play at Perry Lakes in 2024 upon coming back home before injury ruined that season, and then she played on at the Hawks in 2025, she always knew a Warwick homecoming was on the cards.

She now couldn’t be happier that it's happened in 2026.

"I think there was always a part of me when I left at 15, knowing I’d be back at some point, considering a lot of my close friends are still there after all these years too," Clark said.

"Warwick will always feel like a home to me, and I’m so happy I get to be there this year playing with the same people I played with five to six years ago.

"It felt super nostalgic walking through those stadium doors when I got back from Canberra, knowing it would be my home court again, and I’m super grateful the clubs given me the opportunity to have that homey feeling again."

What a weekend that just was

Coming off a 47-point hammering of the Willetton Tigers the previous week, last weekend was the 24-hour period where Warwick sent a serious message that they are one of the contending teams again in 2026.

It started on Friday night with the hard fought four-point win against the Perry Lakes Hawks before they backed up on Saturday at Warwick Stadium in a Grand Final rematch against the Cockburn Cougars.

Not only did Warwick win to snap the 30-game NBL1 West winning streak of the Cougars, but did so emphatically by 21 points. Clark couldn’t have been happier on the back of her own 46 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists across those two matches.

"Yeah we’re all pretty pumped after those wins," Clark said.

"I think we walked into Saturday's game against Cockburn with a lot more to prove that what we showed on court the day before against Perry Lakes, and that’s exactly what we did.

"But yeah there was definitely a lot of adrenaline flowing on Saturday, and I think it was a really good step forward for us as a team in all aspects of the game."

Playing against sister Emma

Going back to last Friday night and for the second time already this season that pitted the Clark sisters up against one another.

And again it was Jayda's Senators able to get the points against Emma's Hawks, but in the bigger picture it's a whole lot of fun being out on an NBL1 court competing against each other for them.

"It’s super fun playing against Emma, we start making jokes to each other like a week in advance, placing bets on who’s going to win or who’s going destroy one another, which I always do obviously, so we get a good laugh and debrief out of it," Clark said.

"I’m proud of Emma for getting some minutes this season, she’s had some great glimpses of showing what she can do, and I hope I can see more of it."

Prospects for this team in 2026

Clark has joined a Senators team in 2026 that made the Grand Final last year and did a more than admirable job to be as competitive as they were for so long against the Cockburn Cougars given the injury troubles they had overcome to make it that far.

Now if you take out two losses to the East Perth Eagles and another to the Rockingham Flames, the Senators have been outstanding so far in 2026 and at no point have they been at full strength yet.

New import Greta Kampschroeder only arrived last weekend while Nat Burton has missed the past three matches. That's good news for Clark because it means they can only keep getting while sitting at 7-3 at the moment.

"We’re feeling great as a team, and Greta has been an awesome addition for us," Clark said.

"She’s a super cool person, and I’m excited to see how we can work on court together in coming games.

"Nat’s been great this year as well, and I love the way she plays and her veteran and leadership qualities are not taken lightly in this group, we appreciate her a lot , so having her again will take us to another level for sure."

Young, dynamic back court trio

While most teams have at least one of their import spots used on a guard, at the Senators they have quite the exciting local trio showing the way in their back court.

All three are coming off WNBL seasons too with Clark at the Capitals, Chloe Forster at the Townsville Fire where she won a championship, and Kyana Weir who was in that Grand Final series too with the Perth Lynx.

Clark couldn’t be happier with what that trio producing and growing as a unit together.

"Yeah I’d say we’re a pretty dangerous trio when we’re on! It’s taken a little bit of time to gel, but I think we’ve got that confidence in each other that anyone on any given night can provide what the team needs, and that’s all that matters," Clark said.

"Having played a few games in juniors together and now starting in NBL1 is a full circle moment for us, and it’s been a lot of fun working together again."