The WSL Championship Tour and the Challenger Series are chalk and cheese. The CT has the better waves, bigger setups and greater audience – everything about it is premium. The other’s a grind – cheap flights, crowded houses and everything riding on a handful of heats.
“On the Challenger Series you were always cramming in to small pads with like six of us, with some crew sleeping on the floor. On the CT, everyone gets their own bed. It’s all about being comfortable and putting performance first. But I’m sure we’ll all be hanging out and cooking up some grindy feeds together still,” said Australian Morgan Cibilic.
After four years away, Morgs is back on the CT full time. The 26-year-old from Merewether finished fifth during his rookie campaign in 2021 before falling victim to the mid-year cut the following season.
Since then, he’s hovered. There have been close calls on the CS and flashes of brilliance as a CT wildcard at Bells and on the Gold Coast – enough to remind everyone of the talent, but not always enough to stick when it mattered. Over the past couple of years, Cibilic has added Nathan Hedge to his coaching corner and has travelled with a core group of Aussie mates that are continually pushing each other in and out of the surf.
A number of them, Cal Robson, George Pittar, Liam O’Brien and Oscar Berry, have joined Cibilic on the CT after strong CS campaigns of their own.
“It’s pretty epic, we’re all just young battlers, most of us from pretty small towns across Australia and it’s just epic being able to travel with your mates,” said Morgs.
“We all grew up competing against each other, especially myself, Liam and Callum, we’re all around the same age and then the boys who are a bit younger are pretty similar ages too. It just creates such a good dynamic and it’s been epic. I’m looking forward to the year, it’s pretty early on but it’s going to be pretty fun.”
While they might travel as a pack, the friendship has its limits once the jersey goes on and even in the free surfs, they try and get one over on each other.
“We’re all super competitive in our own right I guess. We’re like a little team in and around the events, especially on the Challenger Series, we’d all go down and support each other. It was kind of like a family on the road and it’s been epic,” he said.
“We definitely have our own rivalries within the crew, there’s no one I’d like to beat more than Caltex or LOB or any of those boys. Out of the surf we’re all mates and then the freesurfs it’s a little bit of a battle, but more of a secret one. We’re always competing against each other whether its ping pong or cards, that’s what mates do. You just want to beat each other at everything.”
That camaraderie and togetherness has continued throughout the start of the 2026 CT. Despite early losses at Bells for most of the Australians, the mood in the camp hasn’t shifted.
“We’re all super close. When you start travelling together overseas you tend to bunk in together a bit more. I’ll try and travel with Cal, Liam and George as much as I can. At Bells I’m staying with Callum and Oscar Berry, we’ve been having a hell time.”
It’s been tough on the big stage for Australian surfers in recent years. Mick Fanning was the last male to win a World Title back in 2013. Morgs believes Jack Robbo or Ethan Ewing are the most likely to end the drought.
“This new format is really going to help the Aussies. Jack and Ethan are the most likely to do it this year and I think the new format will really help them, especially someone like Jack with Pipe being worth 15,000 points and then having Tahiti and Cloudbreak on the schedule. A full year will benefit everyone and hopefully someone is coming home with the big trophy.”
As for Morgan, he’s set his sights on a top 10 finish and an event win in 2026.
“My goals for this year, I really want to feel comfy on tour, get a few big results and know that I belong there. Definitely would love to go deep on the rankings and finish top 10, that would be amazing and then I guess a basic one is requalify. I’d like to dominate one or two events this year and get to the finals. Winning an event this year would be a dream for sure.”
You can catch Morgs in action again when the CT heads to Margaret River on 16 April.
