Hasn’t the top 34 just been luckless this year? Snapper puts out to the locals for weeks on end and then gets shy when the pros come to town; Bells is big, messy and nowhere near its best; The Box remains untapped in WA; and Rio, well, let’s not talk about Rio. Now the pros are sitting over there in the South Pacific enduring the flat spell of all flat spells and giving each other bad haircuts while the east coast of Oz has just wrapped-up one of the best weeks of surf in recent memory and Indo continues to fire.
When Cloudbreak finally decides to come to life, though, there’s a couple of good match-ups waiting for us, and here are the best of them.
Heat 3: Filipe Toledo vs. Dusty Payne
With its long, sectiony left-hand walls and potential for huge, gaping barrels, Cloudbreak isn’t exactly the ideal canvas for Filipe’s surfing. But the kid’s a smart competitor, and he gets through heats on that strength alone, as was the case in Round 1 when he easily dealt with Jack Freestone and Ryan Callinan. Dusty, on the other hand, ain’t too smart in a jersey. His career has been defined by mind-blowing freesurfing and shithouse competitive performances. But things have looked a little different recently. He made the quarters in Rio and backed that up by knocking out former Fiji Pro runner-up Nat Young in Round 2. He’s also a powerhouse whose surfing should suit a wave like Cloudbreak down to the ground. If Dusty’s better self can make it to this heat, we’re in for a hell of a clash. If not, Filipe will smoke him.
Dusty keeps his roll on during a Cloudbreak freesurf. Photo: WSL/Cestari
Heat 4: Jordy Smith vs. Kelly Slater
In 2010, these two went head-to-head for a world title. Long story short, Kelly crushed it and wrapped things up long before the season was out—but a lot has changed since then. Kelly’s currently sitting at 35th in the ratings and Jordy has been injured more times than I can remember, although didn’t he look healthy in the opening round? All power and flair and Andy-esque bravado. Kelly, too, showed flashes of his former self. So what’s a clash between the form surfer of Round 1 and the undisputed heavyweight champ of Cloudbreak going to bring in 2016? Well, a shit-ton of waves hopefully, because we want to see this one go the distance regardless of who comes out on top. Give us blood, sweat and tears. Give us some kind of physical altercation if required. Just don’t be a fizzer, please.
Heat 8: Jeremy Flores vs. Josh Kerr
This is one of those heats that might not stand out on paper but has real potential when you give it some thought. Two of the best backhand tube-riders on tour at one of the world’s best lefts, both approaching veteran status, both sitting at equal 27th on the ratings and needing a serious result to get their seasons on track. If the waves show up and some juice with it, expect these two to go hammer and tongs until the finish, and expect them to pack some barrels along the way.
Heat 10: John John Florence vs. Taj Burrow
Realistically, this could be Taj’s last ever heat as a world tour competitor. John John’s fresh off a win in Rio, he’s the best barrel-rider on the planet, and he’s hungrier for a world title than he’s ever been. But Taj wouldn’t have had one of the longest, most successful careers in history if he wasn’t one of the best competitors of the modern era, and you can bet your VHS copy of Sabotaj he’s not going to want to lose this one. It’s no secret Fiji is his favourite event on tour and one of the few he’s never won, and for all his talk of ‘whatever happens it’s a dream result’, you know that deep down he wants to go out on a high. John John, on the other hand, is looking to get some momentum going. This one’s a must-see, whatever the result.
