Wildcards North Narrabeen looking to shake up Australian Boardriders Battle final

They were announced as a late wildcard entry, but North Narrabeen won’t just be there to make up the numbers at this weekend’s Australian Boardriders Battle final in Newcastle.

Although they might not admit it, most of the teams competing in this year’s Australian Boardriders Battle probably grimaced when they heard that North Narrabeen had secured the wildcard spot for this weekend’s final in Newcastle.

The two-time champions, who failed to qualify through the Central NSW regional pool late last year, received the late call-up last week after being unveiled as Surfing Australia’s wildcard for the event.

“We’re grateful and appreciative of the opportunity to compete in the final,” says coach Matt Cattle.

“We had a bunch of surfers away, overseas competing, when the regional qualifier was on and we fell short. We got to the semi-finals.”

And with a wealth of top-line international experience, the Northern Beaches club won’t just be making up the numbers – they will well and truly be in with a shout of taking out the title.

“We’re going in there with the mindset of winning it,” says Tru Starling, who’ll line up for the club this weekend. “We’ve won it twice and last year we got knocked out in the semis, which was a tough loss – everyone took that pretty hard.”

North Narrabeen’s Tru Starling. Photo: Simon Williams/@swillpics.

Starling says that coming in on the wildcard perhaps even frees up the team even a little more than usual.

“There’s no expectation, there’s no pressure here. We can just kind of go in and do what we do best.”

Despite missing out on automatic qualification, North Narrabeen will take a star-studded team to Newcastle for the finals.

Cooper Chapman will be one of North Narrabeen’s open division surfers for the final AAP IMAGE / Troy Snook)

Alongside Starling, who surfs on the WSL’s women’s Qualifying Series (QS), North Narrabeen will call on experienced QS duo Cooper Chapman and Jamie Thompson in the open division, while young gun Corey Lawson will be the junior.

And then of course they’ll be led by their spiritual leader and over 35s competitor Nathan Hedge, who shocked the surfing world in August last year by making it all the way through to the semi-finals of the WSL Championship Tour event in Tahiti, after entering on a wildcard.

“Nathan’s 42, and the passion and desire he has to compete for the club is just incredible,” says team coach Matt Cattle. “He’s the backbone of the team.”

Nathan Hedge had the surfing world in awe as he powered his way to the semi-finals of the Outerknown Tahiti Pro at Teahupo'o, Tahiti, French Polynesia, in August last year. (Photo by Beatriz Ryder/World Surf League)

It’s a sentiment Starling wholeheartedly agrees with.

“I can’t even begin to describe what he means to the team, to me personally and to the club as a whole. He’s kind of our unofficial team captain,” she says.

While Hedge’s form in the water needs no introduction, Starling says his qualities back on the beach are equally as important, and they in fact were crucial in North Narrabeen taking out the Boardriders Battle back in 2021.

“After our first heat – we didn’t do that great, we came second – Hedgey came over and talked to us each individually, helped us get our confidence back.

“Just for him to be able to dial in on each athlete in the team and to be able to talk to them in a way that makes them feel wanted, but to also give you confidence, is really special.

“And to have him as part of our team is a real advantage that we have over the other clubs.”

Like a number of clubs competing, the line-up could have been even stronger, with Dylan Moffatt, who last year cruelly missed out on qualifying for the top-tier Championship Tour by one spot, and longtime pro Laura Enever both currently in Hawaii for major surfing events.

Simon Anderson is an Australian and North Narrabeen surfing icon.AAP IMAGE/ Tim Pascoe

The strength and depth of the team is testament to the incredible surfing legacy at North Narrabeen, which over the years had produced the likes two-time world champion Damien Hardman and fellow hall of famer Simon Anderson, among plenty of others.

“The heritage definitely keeps on inspiring great surfers to come out of the community and the beach,” says Cattle.

“When you see amazing talent growing up as a child – and legends such as Simon Anderson, Pipe Master, Bells Beach Champion – in the water, it just inspires the whole community and beach to be better.

“It’s been incredible how we’ve able to produce such talent throughout the years. It’s been riveting to watch.”

It was similar dynamic that inspired Starling, 22, as she grew up in the area.

“I feel really lucky growing up not only around Narrabeen but the Northern Beaches as a whole, because we have Laura (Enever), Dyl (Moffat), but also the guys like Damien Hardman and Davey Cathels.

“Damien’s won two world titles, Davey’s been on the CT, and then others like Simon Anderson – he invented the thruster!

“There’s so much knowledge and achievement within the club, and it’s kind of hard not to want to live up to that expectation of greatness.”

North Narrabeen will be hoping to emulate their 2021 Australian Boardriders Battle success, also at Newcastle Beach, this weekend. Photo: supplied.

As one of Australian surfing’s most famous boardriders clubs, North Narrabeen will be looking to add another chapter to its wonderful legacy this weekend.

“We’re excited to compete and looking forward to it,” says Cattle. “Especially at Newcastle, it’s such a great amphitheatre on the beach. It’s like a colosseum there at Newy, and it’s just a sensational vibe.”

As for Starling, she just can’t wait to get in the water.

“This event is probably one of my favourites of the year,” she said.

“When you’re surfing in a team environment it’s not just about you, it’s about everyone else as well. It’s so different to when you’re surfing in an individual heat.”

“For me, it always starts off with the first surf. If the first surf and the first wave starts off well, everyone else just has that confidence on the back of that and start building on that momentum… That’s why I love this event, because if your team is in a good rhythm, you can be unstoppable.”

The Australian Boardriders Battle final takes place at Newcastle Beach on February 4-5.