Warshaw: “Jay Davies v Jack Robbo final!”

An all West Australian, all wildcard final at Margaret River, says Matt Warshaw… 

Did you hear? Eighteen-year-old Western Australian surfer Jack Robinson will be a wildcard at the Margaret River Pro, which may or may not start in two days.

Do you remember when Jack won the Pipeline Trials last year, beating the fleshy but not fat Jamie O’Brien, and the perfect Mason Ho? The boy with the hacksaw haircut and who wasn’t even at the gate of adulthood had two of Hawaii’s best surfers scrapping for second.

I believe Jack Robinson will win Margaret River and would’ve taken the WSL’s advice to use the betting agency Ladbrokes to secure a wager, but Jack is yet to appear on the form.

Depending upon the results of the locals trials event, Jack will either have Gabriel Medina and Davey Cathels in Heat 5 or Adriano de Souza and Keanu Asing in Heat 6.

In the meantime, I asked former pro, former Surfer editor and Encyclopedia of Surfing maven Matt Warsaw for his opinion of Jack, and more…

BeachGrit: You saw Jack during the Pipe Trials? You like?

Warshaw: He was amazing at Pipe, yeah. There was a heady moment early in the Masters where I thought maybe he’d go all the way. But even more impressive to me was how well Jack rode Sunset a couple weeks earlier, I think it was the HIC Pro. Smooth as silk, patient with the bottom turn, big flexing Andy Irons carves, super comfortable with all the wobble and lurch Sunset throws as you. Awesome stuff for an 18-year-old, especially when Sunset is such an afterthought for most young pros.

I first became aware of him not as small-wave guy, the way I did with Filipe, Gabe, Kolohe, and every other young pro, but as a fully-formed charger in heavy waves. You see that every now and then, and it’s almost supernatural.

What did you think of his Hawaiian debut?

Was that his first year in Hawaii?

Actually, no. First time in the Triple Crown, maybe.

Twenty years from now he’ll have enough Triple Crown trophies to make a suspension bridge.

Is Jack the most promising teen you’ve seen since Gabriel and Filipe?

Without a doubt. Maybe because I first became aware of him not as small-wave guy, the way I did with Filipe, Gabe, Kolohe, and every other young pro, but as a fully-formed charger in heavy waves. You see that every now and then, and it’s almost supernatural. Jeff Hakman was like that. Kong was like that. You know they put in all the hard hours to get there, but on some level its eerie to see a kid, like 16, 17 or 18, surf like a cool old vet in gnarly conditions. You expect the crazy air game. You don’t expect perfect fading bottom turns at max Sunset.

And the hair. Does Jack have the best hair since… who?

George Greenough. Surfs like Andy, grooms like George. Which just feels so perfect for right now. In terms of lovability, Jack, for me, is the shining opposite of Julian Wilson.

 Margarets starts this week; can you imagine what he’ll do in his home town? 

It’s the hardest event on the schedule to predict, but Jack would have to be among the favorites.

If it’s Box, he’s unbackable, I believe. Tell me your thoughts.

I wonder if Jay Davies is getting a start this year? If its Box and North Point, and those two are on opposite sides of the draw, it’s be pretty reasonable to pick them both for the final

Did you hear the story about Gabriel not wanting to surf Box last year and having to be coaxed out by the Renato Hickel? 

What I like about that story is Renato said “Look, you’re the Champ, you have to go out,” and Gabe basically grit his teeth, nodded, and gave it a shot. It wasn’t Filipe sitting at Teahupoo and not taking off. Gabe gave it a real dig. Lost to Jay Davies, so no shame there at all.

Wilko, tell me, is it ridiculous to call him a title contender?

It seems ridiculous, but who’s going to take him down? Mick’s out. Gabe’s already got a pair of 13ths. Filipe’s gonna be holding a third and two missed events. Adriano’s going to pick up a bunch of fifths and a couple thirds this year, but probably won’t get a win. Conner, maybe? I think he’ll hit a rough patch at some point, but who knows. Italo and Caio, from what I’ve seen, have the best shot at catching Matt. Of the nine events left, Margarets seems like the place where Wilko could stumble. Maybe Rio. But rest of the schedule looks good for him. If Micro can keep Matt on a precise methadone level of beer, not too much, not too little, and keeps his confidence up, then it’s Wilko’s title to lose.