Julian Wilson is sitting in the yard of his home in Whitebridge, just south of Newcastle. The night before he’d driven eight hours back from Burleigh with his three kids in the back seat and a monumental contest in the rear-view mirror. As we speak, Julian tells me he’s perched in exactly the same spot he was when I’d spoken to him a month earlier about his decision to return to the competitive fold. In the first interview he’d quietly dropped the fact he’d been given a wildcard into the trials of the Gold Coast Pro. Of course the world looks and feels a little different for Jules as we talk for the second time around. “It’s a bit surreal to think that all this has transpired since we last spoke,” he offers… It’s come a long way in 10 days.”

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During his hiatus from major competition, Julian Wilson didn’t put a handbrake on his surfing. He was living in Newcastle, where his wife Ashley is originally from. Newy is a rusted-on surf town with a rich history, vibrant daily scene and plethora of nearby waves to ride. Mark Richards still lives across the road from the beach at Merewether, Ryan Callinan is a regular in the water when he’s home, as is Jacko Baker. Morgan Cibilic surfs for the Merewether club, and a flock of other locals surf with A-grade polish and flair. Matt Hoy continues to lay down deep furrows and you might find Craig Anderson hunting ramps on an inconspicuous onshore peak; his sister Phillipa prepping for a comp down the beach. Meanwhile, Julian’s good mate, Rhys Smith is a local surf industry baron and each year Rhys’s dad, Warren, runs the Newcastle Surfest, the most core surfing contest in the world. In Newcastle, there are ...