It's 5am in J-Bay.

[mustkillmulloway]

wtf...i'm sure someone pulled bedes leggie :?

[mustkillmulloway]

catch a fuc.kin wave all ready

i note no dogs on the beach...how sad

[mustkillmulloway]

i'm shattered

daughter is cheering

c'mon taj

[Regnis]

Melling v Taj now...go Melling!!

that last heat (semi) between Bede and Jordy was bullshit. 2 pretty good airs by jordy in the last 5 mins to take it from under Bede's nose gotta givew it to him though

[mustkillmulloway]

..change the blue singlet for green....

than it be just like fishin...watch nav boys do nothin for ages interspersed with the odd 30 seconds excitement

p.s even gt is a let down today....over it

i'll find out who won tommorrow

[mustkillmulloway]

gee, it's slater being over scored allk over again, how can he not win it
pfffttttttttttt

[steve shearer]

Bru was nigh on unstoppable : he would've crushed anyone in the 44 with his Finals performance.

He dodged a bullet against Bede but Bede knows in his heart of hearts he could've shut the gate earlier on Bru by not falling.
Judges have already set a precedent of scoring Jordy highly on non-set waves after that day at Winkipop where he did his Superman.


On Melling.
About a month ago, just after the Trestles comp which Melling missed due to a visa mishap the verbal around town was that Melling had blown it and that his career was over before it really began.
On a windy, rainy Sunday afternoon I was pegging lures off the back of the Point to a school of feeding trevally, in front of the section they call RedRock. The surf was a wind ravaged 3ft with no-one out.
Melling came ambling down the rocks, suited up.
I know Adam to say hi to but on this occasion I felt a strong paternal desire to say something more meaningful to him.
I introduced myself properly to him and said I'd been on the beach for most of his heats, and that even though he had been beaten, in the main he had surfed really well and that his surfing could easily hold it's own at the Top of the tree.
"Keep Going" I said..."your luck will change for the better"
He thought about this for a while before responding...."thanks, I really hope so".
He went out and blitzed it.

Anyhoo, I can report that there were no signs of wild parties at the Ox last night. The town was quiet in the pre-dawn.
After cleaning a few windows, I went up to the old cow shed on the corner where, after Fannings World Title in 07 , some grommets had scribbled : Yeah Fanning. I crossed out the Fanning and with a crayon scribbled Melling in its place.
It's been an eventful year at the Ox.

[pridmore]

Jordy was always gunna win it, it was in the script as they say...but I would have liked Melling to have had a chance and if he scored a few good sets waves, it would have made things much fairer, but thats comps, working with nature and the conditions is harder than beating the other bloke alot of the time...Melling should be stoked, Bede will be spewing JS was overscored ( especially in earlier rounds on smaller waves )and Taj blew that turn that he has done a million times.... but the viewing was good....but trying to watch the footy and the surfing was confusing.....

[lovenutz]

Occy might make some silly comments but at least he sticks it to the judges. Jordy just got an 8.6 for a smaller wave and the Occ let fly!

.

bede just got a bigger, better, longer wave.....blew it up...got a tube ( which jordy didn't) 7.43

the whole things a joke

profesional surfing pleaseeeeeeeeeee

who are the faceless judges

No-one in the world could have surfed those waves as good as Jordy did. It was great judging....bede LUCKED into the best waves and surfed them good. Jordy FOUGHT for the scraps and surfed them AMAZING. Slide to super man to lip line float to massive hack...on a wave anyone else would have done 3 aaverage snaps? you need to learn what good surfing is...

[steve shearer]

I agree LoveNutz.

Since Perry Hatchett got ratfcuked by the ASP the judging has improved immeasureably.

[oldman]

Say what you like about Bray, Alexander, even Rabbit Warren, none of them would enter the booth without properly researching the event, the athletes, the rules, etc.

The Buddhists call this Monkey Mind.

Occ is a great example of the monkey mind Grazza. No filters between the brain and the mouth. I suspect that is the attraction for many.

If Gordon Bray was doing the commentary he would fill the 20 non-action minutes of every heat with minutiae about each surfer that would defy belief.

That preparation is what a professional does Grazza.

Excuse my ignorance, but who is GT?

[lovenutz]

I think Holmes actually got very lucky...he surfed pretty average against AI and Slater...mainly picking the best waves.
Was good to see Andy come back to form. he drew the best lines out of anyone all event IMO. Love his fade top turn combo...so smooth and individual.
Melling surfed great...like Fanning but maybe a touch more flare and power if possible. See how he goes at chopes though...
jordy was the deserved winner though. Against Bede he surfed like a world champ, no sign of nerves and actually went beyond normal ability under pressure. Only Slater does that kinda shiit...his confidence is gonna go through the roof. I dont like his backhand tube riding however and think its his one weakness. he should get to Tahiti a few weeks early. If he does ok at Chopes the title could be his..

[Karlos]

Occ is a great example of the monkey mind Grazza. No filters between the brain and the mouth. I suspect that is the attraction for many.

If Gordon Bray was doing the commentary he would fill the 20 non-action minutes of every heat with minutiae about each surfer that would defy belief.

That preparation is what a professional does Grazza.

Excuse my ignorance, but who is GT?

"...and young Melling is a product of that famous surfing nursery, Ballina High School on the north coast of New South Wales..."

Dunno olds, it just doesn't sound right talking about the public system. If he had've boarded at Joeys or attended Kings & played rugby or rowed (river not surf) then maybe it'd work. Otherwise I don't reckon Bray is capable of surfing commentary. Well researched he'd be no doubt, but it'd be just a bit too weird.

Here's another thought. You know how when the Olympics comes around, the networks (usually Channel 7) round up their stable of stars (not just sporting commentators either, any will do) to provide commentary, more often than not with appalling results due largely to their lack of knowledge often bordering on absolute cluelessness. Now imagine if Occy was on the 7 payroll & they threw him into something like Dressage or Curling? Now that'd get me glued to the TV. Maybe we ought to be thankful he's only going out to the surfing audience afterall.

Good question re. GT olds. Exactly where did the bloke come from? Ex-pro? Journo?

[steve shearer]

yes.
But anyone who keeps saying "oh Dane really wants to win a world title..he's just pretending not to care etc etc" needs to watch and listen.

How many of these embarassing kook-downs from Dane do you need to see to realise he is resolute about refusing to compromise and become a performing seal for the masses.
He will do it his way or not at all.
It'd take a mighty confluence of events for him to win an event let alone a World Title.

I'll keep watching because there are sublime moments to be savoured every time he paddles out.

I'd say GT was an ex member of a failed rock band from Southern California who happened to grease the right palms at the right time.
But he's alright....GT...he does no harm.

[lovenutz]

yes.
But anyone who keeps saying "oh Dane really wants to win a world title..he's just pretending not to care etc etc" needs to watch and listen.

How many of these embarassing kook-downs from Dane do you need to see to realise he is resolute about refusing to compromise and become a performing seal for the masses.
He will do it his way or not at all.
It'd take a mighty confluence of events for him to win an event let alone a World Title.

I'll keep watching because there are sublime moments to be savoured every time he paddles out.

I'd say GT was an ex member of a failed rock band from Southern California who happened to grease the right palms at the right time.
But he's alright....GT...he does no harm.

Dane is a brillant surfer...but I dont think he is in the league as jordy. Jordy has surpassed Dane. His ability to deal with pressure, emotional drive, his success rate of moves and tactical cool...I can see another superfreak (no marketing pun intended) in the making. If he can get his barrel riding up to his air game he will take multiple titles no worries.
I wouldnt bet $5 on him at Chopes and Pipe and this is where he is going the have strive

[oldman]

Dunno olds, it just doesn't sound right talking about the public system. If he had've boarded at Joeys or attended Kings & played rugby or rowed (river not surf) then maybe it'd work. Otherwise I don't reckon Bray is capable of surfing commentary. Well researched he'd be no doubt, but it'd be just a bit too weird.

Agreed. It wouldn't fit at all, but he would have lots of trivia on every surfer just to help fill the void.

[Nappy]

Personally I think it worked out alright for slats and his quest for 10, I still see Mick as his greatest threat to the tittle, all the new breeds arnt gonna have much chance at chopes and pipeline if its firing. Come to think of it Ive never seen jordy in a big heavy left barrel like chopes or pipe.

Bottom line slatter is still in the box seat. Hopefully he can get the 10 then call it quits cant see him continuing next year.

[Cpt.Caveman]

This looks interesting, the two messiahs of modern progressive surfing in 1st place (Jordy) and 4th place (Dane).

Maybe you're not too bidazzled Steve and theres actually something significant happening