Local hero Jack Robinson saved his best surfing till last to become 2x Margaret River Pro champion against John John Florence in a wave-filled final at pumping main break.
The WA regular-footer admitted that he had surfed tactically throughout finals day during heats which were slightly starved of high scoring opportunity. However, he was blessed with pumping conditions for the final and his full repertoire was on show as he laid down some huge carves and took to the air to beat John who had looked untouchable earlier in the day.
On the women’s side Gabriella Bryan laid down some high caliber power surfing and showed full commitment to the sketchy main break end section to take the victory over Sawyer Lindblad.
If it wasn’t for the drama of the mid-year cut and Kelly’s departure from the tour, I think it’s fair to say the event the event could be considered a flop given the sub-par conditions and inconsistent days of competition.
However, the finals saved the event and it was a day of drama and world class surfing in solid main break conditions.
Quarter finals
After the culmination of the men’s round of 16, the WSL went straight into the men’s quarters where John John, who I had early dubbed as Mr. undeniable, landed a knockout blow to Samuel Pupo. The Brazilian’s pair of 7’s was not enough to save his CT campaign. He will join his brother Miguel on the Challenger Series, whose time on tour was cut short earlier in the week when his younger brother ousted him in the previous round.
Wildcard George Pittar proved he can get in the ring with the biggest heavyweights on tour. He took the fight to the current world number one Griffin Colapinto in the quarter-finals, combo’ing the San Clemente surfer leaving him with no answer back.
The North-Steyne regular footer’s wave selection was on point as he found himself a rare barrel on one wave, earning a 9.5. He backed it up with a series of critical carves where his unique approach, torking through his maneuvers at the very top of the wave, earnt him a 7.33.
Sydney’s Northern beaches once dominated the tour but have not had a surfer in the big league for years. It looks like George could be the Northern Beaches’ next best hope for a surfer on tour. He will be going into the first Challenger Series event on the Goldy brimming with confidence.
Sammy’s earlier exit drew the mid-season cut to a close, meaning that Seth Moniz who came up against Jordy Smith was able to surf pressure free. That relief was evident in his surfing, finding his rhythm at the right time after looking slightly off the ball so far this year.
The Hawaiian and the South African went blow for blow, trading solid scores and attacking the shallow end section with intent. Seth’s heat total of 15.90 narrowly topped Jordy’s 15.17, who will still be satisfied with a finals day finish after back-to-back 17ths in the previous two events.
Jack then made his way to the semi’s displaying a well calculated forehand attack to beat Imaikalani de Vault.
In the women’s first quarter final Gabriela’s wave selection proved crucial as she found the most vertical sections to lay that Glenn Peng into the most critical parts of the wave, ousting India Robinson.
Brisa Hennessy also displayed her trademark power surfing to beat Australian Molly Picklum.
Tyler Wright and Caity Simmers went blow for blow in the following heat. Despite not being able to back up her 1st place at Bells with another final finish, Caity goes into the next event in Tahiti in the yellow jersey.
Fighting for her place on the Championship Tour, Sawyer Lindblad looked inspired against Sally Fitzgibbons to narrowly beat her and send the Australian veteran back to the Challenger Series.
Semi finals
The first women’s semi was a battle of the forehand hacks, as Gabriela and Brisa waited the majority of the heat before laying down any scores of note. Both took similar approaches, as they powered through their turns and pushed out the tail to show flare and a point of difference. On this occasion, Gabby got one over on Brisa.
In semi two, Sawyer continued her inspired form and secured her place on the CT for the rest of the season by beating Tyler Wright. Sawyer landed two big back hand hacks, navigating the end section bricks to drop a 9.40, which was the highest score on the women’s side during finals day. She backed it up with a 7.17 to take the win.
In the first men’s semi-final, John John went full savage mode and turned up the heat against George, dropping a 10 for a Clay Marzo-esque layback which defied gravity and finished the wave with a fins out on the end section.
He backed it up with an 8.40 where he continued to find the sweet spot and laid down his unique carving approach. It’s hard to write about each carve he does because there’s no amount of superlatives that could adequately give credit to his surfing.
George still surfed beautifully and against anyone else he was still in with a chance but John was untouchable.
The following semi-final was slightly anti-climactic due to the lack of waves on offer. Seth got off to a quick start but could only muster mid-range scores, while Jack waited patiently and earnt himself a pair of 7s to advance to the final.
Final
The women’s final got underway first. Gabriela ticked off two bucket list moments in one heat. She took out the win and in the process she laid down a huge forehand hack in front of a pod of dolphins who, despite not having priority, decided to ride the wave with Gabby. If you consider yourself spiritual, you could argue that the dolphins were a sign of things to come in the final.
Despite Sawyer’s heroic finals day performance, she fell at the last hurdle but will be filled with confidence coming into the back half of the year.
The men’s final was a repeat of the 2022 Margaret River final between John and Jack. Prior to the heat, Jack said that the Hawaiian brings out the best in him and that was evident throughout.
Both John and Jack started quickly but both of them were unable to stick their end section turns, leading to two throwaway scores. However, that did not deter the pair. With 22 minutes left Jack took off on the biggest wave of the final, laying down a huge carve on the first section, similar to John’s approach, and finished with an end section re-entry which gained him a 9.10.
Under priority, Jack backed up his excellent score with a lofty straight air. He gained an 8.17 and left John needing a 10 to go into first, a feat not beyond the Hawaiians reach.
John replied and went for broke on the end section with an air reverse. The wave earnt him an 8.77 and cut the required score down by some margin. With a couple minutes left on the clock, John used his priority on a mediocre wave and followed that up with a small insider which was never going to give him the score. This proved a mistake as it left him with no time to get out the back and despite one final set gracing the lineup, he was nowhere to be seen.
While John looked untouchable throughout the day, he may have peaked one heat too early and Jack saved his best efforts till last. The win takes Robbo into second, while John remains third on the rankings as the tour head to Teahupo’o next month.
Full analysis of the mid-year cut to come.
