Celebrate!
Western Australia’s Jack Robinson saved his season, moments ago, by defeating Deivid Silva in the final of the Corona Open Mexico presented by Quiksilver at Barra de la Cruz.
Robinson’s highest score, a barrel to air combination, was enough to undo Silva who went up and down up and down up and down on his backhand.
The judges, according to Joe Turpel, were split on which wave was better. Barrel + air or up + down + up + down + up + down repeat.
The tour rookie likely saved his next year as the win will allow him to compete on the Championship Tour Delta Variant.
On the women’s side, Steph Gilmore inspired with beautiful surfing, taking down Malia Manuel in the final. She ignored her ego, sat with priority and allowed pretty waves to slide underneath.
Dropping golden anchor.
Malia’s loss ensures Courtney Conologue’s spot on next year’s CTDV.
Exciting.
Longtom wrap coming soon.
douche bag central
Yay!
I think the reason Jack took out that comp is because he’s a phenomenal natural talent. It’s not Irony it’s hard work and putting the time in surfing the wave in advance and getting on some boards from someone who can shape for the right conditions BUT… to say it’s because Jack avoided the HPC and the Surfing Aus it a load of dog shit. Those establishments are the reason why people like Morgan Cibilic can go spend 12 months training there when he’d never had any technical coaching and then make the top 5 in the world in his rookie year. If Jack wants to win a world title he’s going to have to make a little trip over there and work on his fundamental game. If not he will get caught out by all the other top guys who have sound technique and approach to a wave. It’s the same reason JJF got toweled up by Morgan at Narrabeen, it’s the turns in between, the attention to detail and following through turns that get you through the tight heats and bump those mid range scores up into the good range. If Jack works on his front arm and upper body movement he’ll be way more consistent and will be surfing waves more complete. Jack needs to spend some time watching Ethan Ewing’s technical and full approach to a wave. Likewise Ethan has to study Jacks air game, if those guys take a little from each other then Australia will have a couple of solid contenders for the title. If not it’ll be more Brazzo’s on the podium.
JJF is a 2 time World Champ.
he lost that heat because he gave Morgs the best wave of the heat.
That’s generally how heats are won and lost. Wave quality is crucial but either way Morgan smoked him in more ways than that. I can agree on some points regarding the socio economic aspect of pro surfing. Most Australians that live by the beach are a privileged bunch by default. But there’s holes in the logic there, Bondi had an u/16’s world in Grayson Hinrichs just a couple of years ago. I think of all places Bondi can breed more champions. Every day the crowd is like Snapper on a good day but 99.99% are foreign learners it’s a constant battleground. Not like kids growing up surfing perfect waves after strolling down from their folks multi million dollar beach houses and dreaming of the day they inherit it. But a competitive nature isn’t mutually exclusive to poverty it’s a natural temperament.
2 finals in 7 comps this year for the men – Cibilic and Robbo – neither of whom came through the HPC, means everything LT said was right regarding the wasted funding and returns. One Aussie scraping into top 5 but does anyone give him a remote chance at Trestles?
This Robbo win doesn’t paper over the gaping cracks, though I’m stoked he won and we, hopefully, get to see him slay it more at Pipe, Chopes, G-Land etc
The difference is that Robbo’s campaign , since he was 10 , was CASHED UP and he could afford to fund privately ( through his sponsors ) coaches , fitness , health support etc what other surfers with less cash flow were able to obtain recently through government subventions …..
My old club has two surfers using the HPC at the moment ….one is a former CT Rookie of the year who did not get the Golden Ticket and the other a rising 16 year old future star with RedBull wings who is coming on in leaps and bounds literally with the HPC air school …..
Does Morgan have a chance …. yes …..at 4 to 6ft Trestles if he can get himself on the best two waves ….. In recent history we have Medina losing to Gudauskas and Pip barely escaping a 3rd round loss to Ian Crane ….In good to stellar Lowers .
It would be no more surprising than Barton Lynch’s world title winning campaign at Pipe ?
Well…Connor won the QS with Quiksilver, got ROTY with Quik, then fizzled out and got dropped. Snuck back in and has been hugely underwhelming since. With his career on the line Mexico was tailor-made for his backhand attack yet he barely fired a shot.
Connor was 28th and Robbo was 26th going into Mexico. You could almost argue that with Connor’s backhand he’d be the one more likely to go further than Robbo yet he went out in straight sets with a couple of 4s in his career saving heat? Putting all that together, I don’t see how funding or the HPC is relevant in Connor’s case in 2021
He might not have gone as far as he did without their help ?
Sadly he has never surfed so well , outside competition, as he has this year , but just can’t catch a wave to save himself , on this years tour, once the siren has sounded … he still dropped some excellent scores in WA taking out Silver Medallist Kanoa at Rottnest .
I’m just as disappointed as you are with Connor’s limp exit but you can’t sugarcoat it. And isn’t that what the HPC is for, in part? Get them CT ready, get them heat ready, get them strategy ready…?
Connor is battle-hardened enough by now but just didn’t bring his best when he needed to. Repeatedly.
I really believe he is just too nice a bloke ….
He just wasn’t born ruthless ( unlike his wonderful mum ) .
I think the same could be said for most Aussies, which goes back to the original comment I made. When your mum and dad are picking you up from school in their fancy SUV full of your quiver and videoing you down the beach with the pseudo-coach and flying you round the world and pumping up your tyres every day…. That ain’t breeding a ruthless competitive animal in a million years.
Here is the other kid from the club
He is Ruthless
https://youtu.be/h98C1X9jM7U
This just guarantees that Aussies will be profoundly disappointed next year as their countrymen bow out early in event after event. Hope springs eternal (as long as there’s an occasional victory).
Does this mean JW will be back next year now after just requalifying?
Double Australian win, no brazzos. The best day in YEARS!
PS – The final five is the gayest concept since that show with the five mincing homos giving blokes makeovers.
Dirk Ziff is still supporting a lot of Brazilians.
I know I’m going to take some heat on this take but Jacks 8.5 seemed a bit over scored. Small semi clean barrel, got stuck at the top of his air, and a slow mid section and finish. Goofys were at a disadvantage at this break. Daveid surfed extremely well – always going straight up from the drop…and no – I’m not a brazzer. Congrats to Steph. Sorry to see Malia relegated.
Well, do you really think Dirk Ziff is going to keep supporting pro surfing if Brazilians win all the time?
The judges I think, know it too, they want to keep their jobs.
JR surfed well to win his first event against a seriously depleted CT talent pool , it will go down as a cheap shot win , bit like the TC world title where he went into every single shit event to take out the title with accumulated low scores and poor finishes.
But no denial JR was the best surfer in the final.
The blatant biased scoring against Kelly Slater should serve as a reminder that pro surfing is run by the surf indudtry not the WSL.
Hi Nik …. I said it on the live thread that I hope someone who is prepared to do what we can’t wins ….. Both David and Leo had excellent wave choice in this event and surfed hard … but … in the absence of Gabriel , Italo and Felipe in the semis , I was hoping that one of the kids , Mateus or Jack who through caution to the wind would take it out .
Maybe not today, but she’s been consistently underscored throughout the season.
If you don’t count Sally’s win at Rottnest ?
Sally can’t dance.
But she smiles …..I like women who smile .
Entertaining event. I found out where Conan Hayes has been hiding or am I late to the party?
https://www.vice.com/en/art…
Wow. I’m no lawyer, but that seems like legal jeopardy. Impersonating a county official and obtaining privileged information, and then misrepresenting said data for nefarious intentions.
Looks like he might never have got over his loss to Koby Abberton all those years ago at Chopes ….which may have sent him down this nefarious path .
Another feeble attempt at releasing the kraken.
Was this the first aussie win since Owen at Teahupoo?
I always thought that Jack might feel pressure , having been paid bucketloads of gold since he was 10 , and had not won a CT …but then Kolohe has been on tour since 2011 and paid squillions , so he might not feel too bad ?
He will start the 2022 tour with loads of confidence. That’s for sure. And as a brazzo, I think it would be good for the Storm to have guys like Jack putting some pressure on them. Too predictable sometimes. They’ll have to try a bit harder.
Hi D …. Who is your pick to take the take the title at Trestles ….
Gabriel , Italo or Felipe …… ?
Or could it be the Great Train Robbery if Morgan or The Coffin Rider steals it from under their respective , and well sponsor covered noses ?
I’m very conflicted on this one. If this was just another CT stop I’d say Fil. But there’s the title pressure and we know his nerves always get the best of him.
As much as I want Gabe to win, I think Italo will likely be the champion. He is very confident and doesn’t seem to be bothered by pressure at all. He almost always looks unbeatable and he’s also Gabe’s kryptonite.
Gabby is the best surfer, but lost his momentum and focus and is also no fan of Trestles. He looks disconnected, he’s making lots of uncharacteristic mistakes and, surprisingly, his wave choices have been shit lately. If he loses this title to Italo specifically, I think it will be a huge blow and the beginning of his decline. (But mind you I’m also a pessimist in case you haven’t noticed lol)
I don’t think sponsors/WSl will push Morgan or Conner. It would make a mockery of their new format if they won. Gabe has about 20k points more than both of them I think?
So yeah, I’m going with Italo unless Gabe gets his shit together.
How do you see it?
I am against holding the surf off at Trestles . I am against holding a surf off full stop seeing as they could have handed over the trophy to Gabriel yesterday …. He was just so far ahead and totally dominant in a crazy season which could have been called off at any point .
Seriously , like the Olympics , if Gabriel or Italo won , it was going to be a valid championship tour with there stranglehold on all events , and not asterisk insight .
As for the surf off , shit , like the quarter finals in Mexico , anything could happen but am hoping that Gabriel will win in straight sets and make a mockery of the Santa Monica Circus …. any other result stinks of injustice .
100% mate!
I get that this was a shitty season with lots of subpar waves. Gabe was still dominant, made most finals, won a couple comps, did better at Pipe than everybody else in the top 5. Although this far from the “dream tour” he was still the most dominant surfer and with that many points ahead, it is outrageous that he might not be world champion.
If he loses, I really hope he tells the WSL to fuck off and go do something else. He almosy quit/took a break after that Trestles 2016 robbery. Charlie didn’t let him. I wouldn’t be that surprised if he bailed. He doesn’t need the money. Would love to se John quit to freesfurf too. It’s what Elo & Co deserve.
Gabe is not even human. Terminator
He shouldn’t feel bad at all. If they want to pay him a ton, good for him. Take it while you can.
Not bad , it is pro surfing after all and money is all that matters and Instagram numbers ,…….just pressure .
I suppose Kolohe could make a documentary along the lines of the Sex Pistols’ “ The Greatest Rock n Roll Swindle “ ?
Australian Surfing has just announced it will throw off the shackles , of the American Market and the British Royal Family and become a Republic !
Tribal Members / Citizens here is our new National Anthem ….
https://youtu.be/qMkFM6xIPQ4
So maybe Oz surfer pipeline working just fine?
Slater just posted on Instagram a photo with the Brazilian Storm, congratulating them on their success and passion, throwing shade on the state of American and Australian surfing!
Who or what is a ……..Slater ?
I can’t figure out if he is a god or a devil, a genius or an imbecile, either way he is the most interesting person in surfing!
No one can deny Florida’s pro surfing version of Dorian Gray , his absolute surfing wizardry …
Like Oscar Wilde , when asked , at Customs if he had anything to declare ….I am sure , the Goat , would love to reply ….. ONLY MY GENIUS …
interesting is a broadly-scoped adjective. i find dane far more so. but another cat, for his/her own reasons, could even find the Santa Barbara Christian surf school filicidal dude even more so. just sayin…
but yeah, kelly is for sure interesting
Imbecile. Hope that helps.
Carissa was robbed in the Semifinal
Did someone steal her I phone while she was out surfing in the semis …..
Disparity of Wealth and power often causes ….. trouble .
Just jiving Jimmy it’s St Patrick’s Day for Australian Surfing On BLACK FRIDAY
Carissa was robbed a lot this season.
A Hawai’ian, robbed by an Aussie-Amero-centric judging panel, in Oaxaca. I honestly couldn’t script it. Usually the Aussies and gueros get robbed in both Hawaii and Oaxaca by locals.
Yea Jack!
Surfing, like life itself. Up and Down, Up and Down, Up and Down.
Mitch you have described the essential essence of Australian Surfing ….
Off the bottom , off the top , repeat ,as hard as you can until the wave dies out and your legs wobble in …ecstasy
All you east coast smart cunts saying Robbo has no rail game or can’t surf small waves…how’d your saviour Ewing do again?
MATTY T he has been killing it since he was in utero …..
Unfortunately a multitude of QS locations did not help his cause …..and I could never work out how he could smash the lip at maxing Sunset but fall off doing the same move at 1 ft Manly ….. obviously the Arakawas went great in real waves but his first win , today , ( that’s one more than world Title Threat Kolohe ( after 10 years ) was on a Sharp Eye …Celebrations have begun
That was a real criticism – that Robbo can’t surf small waves? LMFAO
Who cares? He surfs the real deal shit and surfs it as good as anyone. Another of the young guns that has a killer future ahead of him. He’s got a long career ahead of him.