Live stream: Watch the finals action from Surfing Victoria Phillip Island Junior Pro
Australia’s best junior finalists have delivered on cue with some of the most competitive surfing in recent memory to cap a thrilling Phillip Island event. Check out all the REPLAYS.
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The best grommets in the nation have turned it on in stellar conditions, to deliver a memorable day of finals action at the Phillip Island Junior Pro.
In a day filled with thrilling heat battles and more than a few nine-point rides, the finals of the inaugural event certainly didn’t disappoint.
Re-watch all of the action from the finals day with our exclusive replays below and hear from a few of the surfers who turned it on in killer conditions at Cape Woolamai.
REPLAYS
U18 GIRLS FINAL
Milla Brown, Natalie Fensom, Ruby Berry, Willow Hardy (U18 girls final)
Watch the hotly contested final in the window above.
U18 BOYS FINAL
Dane Henry, Willem Watson, Harley Walters, Samuel Lowe (U18 boys final)
U16 GIRLS FINAL
Ziggy Mackenzie, Ocea Curtis, Olive Hardy, Grace Gosby (U16 girls final)
U16 BOYS FINAL
Mitchell Peterson, Felix Byrnes, Lachlan Arghyros, Taj Air (U16 boys final)
U14 GIRLS FINAL
Eliza Richardson, Miller-May Berg, Talia Tebb, Rosie Richardson (U14 girls final)
U14 BOYS FINAL
Locana Cullen, Luke Silver, Joey Silk, Eden Alker (U14 boys final)
GROMS’ EXPRESSION SESSION
U18 GIRLS SEMI-FINALS
Isla Huppatz, Natalie Fensom, Milla Brown (Under-18 Girls Semi-Final)
Juniper Hardy, Willow Hardy, Ruby Berry (Under-18 Girls Semi-Final)
U18 BOYS SEMI-FINALS
Dane Henry, Willis Droomer, Eden Hasson, Willem Watson (Under-18 Boys Semi-Final)
Lucas Hickling, Harley Walters, Samuel Lowe, Lachlan Smith (Under-18 Boys Semi-Final)
U16 GIRLS SEMI-FINALS
Grace Grosby, Ava Arghyros, Olive Hardy (Under-16 Girls Semi-Finals)
Ziggy Mackenzie, Ocea Curtis, Alice Hodgson (Under-16 Girls Semi-Finals)
U16 BOYS SEMI-FINALS
Maverick Wilson, Lachlan Arghyros, Ben Zanatta Creagh, Taj Air (Under-16 Boys Semi-Finals)
Max McGillivray, Ocean Lancaster, Mitchell Peterson, Felix Byrnes (Under-16 Boys Semi-Finals)
U14 GIRLS SEMI-FINALS
Eliza Richardson, Rose Holland, Savannah Rielly, Miller-May Berg(Under-14 Girls Semi-Finals)
Scarlett Rennie, Leila Fraser, Rosie Richardson, Talia Tebb (Under-14 Girls Semi-Finals)
U14 BOYS SEMI-FINALS
Joey Silk, Eden Alker, Hunter Sutcliffe, Rio Luther Barr (Under-14 Boys Semi-Finals)
Locana Cullen, Luke Silver, Carter Crowley, Noah McBride (Under-14 Boys Semi-Finals)
SATURDAY WRAP
It was always going to be a grand stand finish and Cape Woolamai Beach delivered some good conditions for competitors on Saturday.
During the groms’ expression session, surfers had the opportunity to perform skills they have always wanted to try in front of the judges, but they were not assessed on the them.
Many surfers were able to perform four turns on the waves.
Check out the expression sesson video above as some surfers pulled some big moves outside the heat of finals action.
“It’s much more than a sport, it’s a lifestyle,” a local Phillip Island surfer said.
Surfers performed right handers and also some uncommon left hander moves.
U18 GIRLS FINAL
Milla Brown has ralled late to claim the under-18 girls final in thrilling circumstances after Ruby Berry appeared on course for the title.
While Brown charged home to get the desired result, worse was to come for Berry, with Willow Hardy, on her final wave, doing enough to also overhaul her rival. Natalie Fensom finished in fourth position.
It was another hotly contested final, with the result always up for grabs until the final minutes.
U18 BOYS FINAL
Gun surfer Harley Walters has claimed the under-18 boys title and then delivered an equally slick post-final interview in his desperation to get home.
Walter’s ultra consistency was rewarded with a solid performance in the decider, but the NSW surfer wasn’t hanging around for the deserving adulation.
“I’ve got to get to the airport. Thanks heaps for a fun comp, so stoked,” a concerned Walters said.
Like Walters and his predicament, the final was went down to the wire, and wasn’t decided until the final two waves.
Dane Henry landed a brave aerial move on his final wave. But, unfortunately for the runner-up, his efforts proved in vain.
The Fingal Head surfer said he had had a couple decent of results this year.
“It’s sick being down here — a lot of good vibes,” Henry said.
Henry described Saturday’s competition as “mental”.
Walters put himself in a strong position on the back of a 7.75 score after some really strong backhand turns, an advantage he never surrendered, though the result was always in the balance.
Samuel Lowe and Willem Watson filled the minor placings.
U16 GIRLS FINAL
It came down to virtually the last wave as the under-16 girls finalists embraced easily the most competitive shootout of the day.
With the lead changing more than 10 times, it was Ocea Curtis who emerged triumphant as conditions for surfing soared to another level.
Ziggy Mackenzie’s consistency paid off for her to hang on to second place, while Olive Hardy and Grace Gosby provided some entertaining moments in what could only be described as an entralling contest.
“The girls were all ripping, so it was incredibly hard. It was really tricky,” Curtis said.
“I love it here. It’s such a sick wave.”
U16 BOYS FINAL
NSW surfer Lachlan Arghyros has let a backhand manoeuvre do the talking to take out the under-16 boys title.
The Kingscliff Beach surfer endured a few nervous moments, but a 8.1 ride helped him build a substantial lead, which was simply too much for his fellow finalists.
Arghyros said he was amazed to win the final, his first major triumph.
“I feel really good, it’s such an amazing place and it’s my first time being down here,” Arghyros said. “It’s pretty cold but it’s nice.”
Arghyros described the competition as “exciting”.
“It’s my first big win so, yeah, really happy,” he said.
U14 GIRLS FINAL
Impressive up-and-comer Eliza Richardson has taken out the under-14 girls title from her twin sister Rosie Richardson.
Displaying maturity above her years, Richardson didn’t panic despite the lack of suitable waves early in her final.
“It was pretty tricky out there. I didn’t get many waves until late out there,” Richardson said.
Miller-May Berg claimed third with Talia Tebb finishing in fourth place.
U14 BOYS FINAL
Locana Cullen. Remember the name.
The unknown Northern Beaches surfer has displayed great pose and style to obliterate his rivals in the under-14 boys final.
Pulling out an array of slick manoeuvres, Cullen’s natural talent simply blew his fellow finalists out of the water.
Appearing glued to his board, none of his rivals could get close to him as he pulled off several textbook aerial moves, posting a 9.25 and a 10.
It was freaky stuff from the youngster, who revealed later he was just 12 years old.
“I was surprised I got a 10. I’m just stoked,” the understated Cullen said.
Joey Silk was gallant in defeat and threw everything into his pursuit of Cullen, but was no match for the Sydneysider.
Eden Aiker and fellow Northern Beaches surfer Luke Silver also had their moments but were never in contention.
Conditions improved dramatically after lunch with the incoming tide and the growing waves holding up on the bar.
U18 BOYS SEMI-FINALS
Dane Henry kept his head in a pressure situation to claim a narrow victory in heat one, posting a winning score of 15.65.
Willem Watson was equally impressive, but just fell desperately short with 15.60.
Willis Droomer was third with a score of 12.30.
Harley Walters took the honours in the second semi after some aggressive surfing to post a high score of 17.25.
Harley performed a snap, revert and a hippie jump to finish the heat and was given a round of applause from the crowd after registering a 9.0
Coming in second was Samuel Lowe with a score of 12.35 and Lucas Hickson in third place, scoring 10.50.
U16 BOYS SEMI-FINALS
Sunshine Coast’s Mitchell Peterson has upstaged his more favoured rivals with some powerful vertical surfing to take out his semi-final heat in the pristine conditions.
“It was pretty fun. I didn’t want to take off too early. It’s good to have some power in the waves,” he said of the small to moderate conditions.
His ascendancy left highly rated boardriders Ocean Lancaster and Max McGillivray needing some big numbers late in their heat, but it wasn’t to be.
Petersen will be joined by Felix Byrnes, who displayed great consistently to finish in second place.
Lachlan Arghyros and Taj Air found themselves in a fascinating duel in the second semi-final before the former emerged victorious in a tight contest.
“My backend is my strength. I will stick to that and hopefully get better scores,” Arghyros said.
U16 GIRLS SEMI-FINALS
Bali-raised Ziggy Mackenzie has produced a stunning victory, posting two nines, to easily outclass her rivals.
Runner-up Ocea Curtis also moved through to the final at the expense of Alice Hodgson.
“The conditions are really good to start with and I got a good wave straight up,” she said.
Magaret River surfer Olive Hardy has thrived in the ideal conditions to overhaul early leader Grace Gosby in their heat, putting together some solid links.
Her wise wave selection was a key factor in her gaining a clear advantage on her rivals.
Gosby progressed to the final, hanging on to second place, with young talent Ava Arghyros missing out.
PREVIEW
A battle between current Australian number one ranked surfer Dane Henry and reigning world champion Willis Droomer will headline a sizzling day of semi-final action in the surf.
Henry proved his class in the quarter-finals, finishing with the best two-wave score across all four knockout heats.
But Torquay’s Droomer knows the conditions at Phillip Island like the back of his hand and will be determined to lock in a rapid rise up the national rankings with a strong performance.
The other Under-18 boys semi-final will feature Victorian local Lucas Hickson up against NSW trio Harley Walters, Lachlan Smith and Sam Lowe.
Australian and Queensland number one Isla Huppatz will be determined to cap off a sensational 2023 season when she hits the waves in the Under-18 girls semi-finals.
Huppatz will be one of the favourites in the opening semi-final heat while Western Australia’s Ruby Berry has flown into the second semi-final off the back of a huge 8.25 single wave score in the quarter-finals on Friday.
“I really love it,” Berry said. “It’s good to get through another round and hopefully get to the final.
“(Phillip Island) is a pretty cool spot and it feels good to travel.”
The top two boys in the nation will clash in the Under-16s semi-finals when Ocean Lancaster and Max McGillivray hit the water together, while in the Under-16s girls Western Australia’s third-ranked Olive Hardy is an early favourite after posting the best heat total in the quarter-finals.
Locana Cullen is flying in the Under-14 boys competition after posting two eight-point rides in the quarter-finals which followed his massive 9.5 ride in the opening round on Thursday.
Cullen will clash with fellow top-10 surfers Carter Crowley, Joey Silk, Hunter Sutcliffe and Rio Luther Barr in the semi-finals.
The Under-14s semi-finals will kick start the day at Phillip Island, followed by the Under-16s and Under-18s semi-finals. A free surf session will give the competition a slight pause before the finals take over in the afternoon.
Originally published as Live stream: Watch the finals action from Surfing Victoria Phillip Island Junior Pro
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