Leo Fioravanti was alongside me in the water at Winki when he summed it up best. “Bells has been a grindy contest the last couple of years.” Over at Bells it was lightly textured with the occasional four-foot lump dawdling into the bowl. However, with the sun fighting its way through the early clouds, the powers that be were determined to provide a little live entertainment for the Easter Sunday crowds. Finals Day was called ON! but with a clear caveat that we might not see a bell rung.
The opening quarterfinal of the men’s was a mate vs mate contest, between old travel partners Morgan Cibilic and Matt McGillvary. Morgan, a former top-fiver, has been trying to resurrect his top-flight career, while McGillivray is endeavouring to shift his status from occasional overachiever to legitimate CT contender. Matt made deft use of an XL lay-back jam to lodge an early seven and take command of the heat, but his mate was nipping at his heals with a 6.33.
Morgan had two waves with the scoring potential he needed to chase down his South African friend; the first fell 2/100th of a point short (he’ll be watching that one back). On the next wave he fell on a slick rotation after two crisp snaps. Completion would have given Morgan the score he required and the Ozi fans someone to cheer for in the semis. A quarter-final finish is probably just enough to make Morgs feel like he belongs back on tour.
The Cole Houshmand v Ethan Ewing quarterfinal took its cue from the Mike Tyson handbook of heavyweight bouts. As in how do I knock the guy out in under two minutes? Houshmand paddled from the beach while Ewing made a mysto’ entry from up the point. They met in the middle and hustled for the first wave seconds after the hooter sounded. Big Cole won the paddle battle and proceeded to deliver the KO. The wave moved at a perfect pace and cupped out invitingly, allowing Cole to deliver a sequence of devastating backhand blows to the lip. It was the best wave Houshmand had ridden all season and it felt like at last we’d seen him show up for a CT heat. The judges dropped a handsome but well-deserved 9.07. Ethan responded in trademark fashion, bending through a three-turn combo with flawless biomechanics. (It’s biomechanics, not ‘body mechanics’ as sometimes gets tossed around in the booth). However, the wave didn’t offer the scoring potential of Cole’s and the judges could only see sixes. Houshmand snaffled a back-up score and the Australian crowd grimaced and growled as the southern ocean went sleepy. Their new favourite son (and current champ) never really had a chance to rally and rode only one wave. It was disappointing to see the champ deprived of a genuine shot at going back-to-back at Bells. Ewing may lament the decision to run on a marginal day, but if he’s in a heat with one wave you’d often back the other guy to catch it, and that’s something of a recurring issue.
Meanwhile, Houshmand now sits above the cut-line and has the wily Matt McGillivray to get past to make the Bells final and take him further into the safety zone. If Bells gets big the Matt vs Cole show should be a spectacle as both surfers will thrive in the juice.
In quarterfinal three the ocean woke up and Griffin Colapinto surfed like a sugar-hit kid who’d just scoffed all his Easter Sunday chocolate eggs. He’d just seen his Californian friend win a painfully slow heat and might have played it safe on his first wave (in case there was no others). Instead he launched into a big straight air and had locked in an 8.5 by the time he’d licked the chocolate off his fingers. Jake Marshall, who is arguably the CT’s biggest improver, knew he had to be at his best to match the momentum of Griff. Marshall slashed his way to an early 7.00 but simply couldn’t go wave-for wave with the yellow-jersey wearer, who roared through a couple of controlled tail slides for an 8.4 back-up that put Jake on the cusp of combo-land. Griff’s layback jam on a later wave didn’t count but clearly demonstrated he has all his moves dialed in and is a clear favourite to ring his first bell.
Rio Waida has perhaps the best power-to-weight ratio on tour and was always going to be a threat at crumbling, mid-size Bells. As Rio hit the jets and slammed the lip, Kade Matson got lost out there and missed a prime opportunity to surf beyond the cut-line. Right now the Californian with the He-Man frame sits one below the looming mid-year guillotine. What percentage of the 2%ers will be left after WA? The numbers are certainly looking better after Bells.
In the women’s, Johanne Defay showed her forehand attack is fast-catching up to her superior backside approach, by gliding past wildcard bolter, Ellie Harrison. In doing so, Defay also claimed the yellow jersey. As her all-round act continues to improve she looks more and more like a genuine title contender. However, she will face Brisa Hennessey, whose frontside carve in the bowl is a lethal weapon. On the refined-railed Glen Pang T&C’s, Brisa’s surfing has a swinging-blade quality that gives her surfing a clear point of difference. She can claim big points in the bowl with one turn. World champ Caroline Marks moves into the semis for the second time this year, but is still yet to make a final. Marks’ precise approach was sufficient to win the backside challenge with Tatianna Weston-Webb, but she will need to be on point to defeat an in form Caitlin Simmers. Curiously the victory of Caroline Marks means that coach Luke Egan still has two surfers left in the event – Cole and Caroline.
Simmers gave Gabriela Bryan a 13.83 start before she conjured a combination of air-drop snaps and full-rail rage to haul her in. Although not the type to say it out loud, there’s no doubt Caitlin is primed to seize the number one slot.
The WSL have till Friday, but won’t want to wait that long. With a little over three hours of contest time remaining they will be able to cherry-pick the best morning of the next few days. Hopefully Bells will show up in a form (even big and onshore would be good) that offers genuine entertainment. Whatever the conditions there are no previous winners left in the event. Two new Bells winners will be crowned by the end of the week.
