Morgan Cibilic is a curious case. His debut campaign on the WSL Championship Tour in 2021 where he finished 5th in the world has been well documented. The following season he was ranked 29th at the half way point of the season and was a victim of the mid-year cut. Since then, he’s only made wildcard appearances in the big league.
Morgs has consistently finished inside the top 20 on the Challenger Series since falling off tour, and as he gears up to get his 2025 quest to requalify underway, the crew at Surfing Australia have been documenting some of his preparation in their latest YouTube video. As far as prep goes, the past few months couldn’t have been much better for the surfer from Merewether, who now lives on the Goldie and has been working as a lifeguard in between CS campaigns. After winning the Rip Curl Trials to earn a wildcard spot at the Bells CT event, Morgs went on to surf to a third place finish, ousting last year’s winner Cole Houshmand and current world number one Jordy Smith along the way.
The 25-year-old was then given a slot into the Burleigh CT event after Ryan Callinan pulled out due to the birth of his first born child. Morgs finished 5th on the Goldie, beating Jack Robbo and Ethan Ewing along the way. What was apparent in both events, was that he was surfing pressure free. He was putting 110% into every turn and wasn’t worried about the consequences if he fell off, because there wasn’t any. He had nothing to lose and everything to gain. It’s that fair to say that in both events, he produced some of the most electric and exciting surfing out of the whole field and it’s clear that he has the power, flare and repertoire to go blow for blow with the world’s best. He has proven that he belongs on the CT.
The positive mental effect a good wildcard performance can have on your surfing cannot be understated. Morgs’ fellow Rip Curl team rider George Pittar was evidence of that the previous year when his stellar performances at Bells and Margs captured everyone’s attention. Pittar went on to qualify for the CT that season. But, does Morgs think he can do the same?
“It’s good for the confidence to know that I can still make heats on the World Tour and I feel pretty good but the Challenger Series is a different ball game and I always get super nervous coming into it with four man heats and everyone’s so talented, the waves aren’t quite as nice so it’s a bit more of a gamble but hopefully make it work in my favour.”
Morgs is an athlete on Surfing Australia’s High Performance Program and has been working alongside former CT surfer and one of the most competitive men on the planet, Nathan Hedge, as his coach.
“It’s been a real honour and a pleasure, he’s really come into his own. It’s been great to see his transformation with the extra work he’s put in and get the results. It’s not always like that, it’s fair to say it’s been a challenging three to four years and it’s taken a lot of lessons and some maturity on his behalf and a re-shift of the focus, lean in and commitment. I think the preparation for this year’s Challenger Series couldn’t have been any better.”
With the CS kicking off in his home town of Merewether, Morgs will have the backing of the steel city. With the addition of Pipe and a second event at Merewether to this season’s CS, he’ll fancy his chances given the home court advantage and the fact he has heat experience out at Pipe, which is something not every CS surfer has in their arsenal.
For more of an insight into his Challenger Series prep, click the link above to watch.
