[i]Central Coasts Matt Wilkinson won todays Balin Pro Junior in good 1m surf at Gunnamatta beach and in doing so took the long perched “monkey of his back” of never having actually won a pro junior event.[/i]Multiple second placings and even more multiple finals performances (4 man finals) have seen Wilkinson at the very top of the Pro Junior ASP Australasian Ratings over the past 12 months and he went very close to actually winning the ratings last season without winning an event but that is now behind him following his brilliant form and last minute win at Gunnamatta.
Wilkinson trailed throughout the final despite having the highest scoring ride, an excellent 8 point ride on his second ride. Young south coast NSW surfer Owen Wright , just 15 years of age but already a seasoned and hardened competitor lead throughout and in the final minute both surfers were next to each other as a final wave approached them –
Wilkinson held the inside position but Wright, knowing that Wilkinson could easily get the required 6 point score on the wave that was approaching did all he could, including taking off on the wave and crossing Wilkinsons pathway to try and stop him scoring – It was an intriguing cross over on the wave which then saw Wilkinson perform a series of strong moves including an aerial to finish the ride and scored another 8 point ride to take the win!
“Fantastic to finally win one – I ve had so many seconds, including at this event last year so its a relief to break through and win here today – Great waves always help and I love surfing the powerful beachbreaks at Gunnamatta – That final was so close – I knew on that last wave I needed a big score to win and Wright was on my case paddling almost straight at me to stop me getting that wave but there was no way I was going to miss it and to get the score just made it perfect!”
The intensity in the final highlights how hard these finals are to win – early in the final Sunshine Coast surfer Julian Wilson was penalized for a paddling interference and it made his task of winning the final impossible! Disappointed at the penalty Wilson later said ” I have no comment at all in relation to that penalty – 3rd is a good result but I do not wish to comment on the paddling penalty!”
In his semi final Wilson put on an awesome display of backhand power surfing posting the days highest wave (9) and heat score 17.5 and began the final really well with a solid 7.6 ride until the interference was announced!
Fourth today was Coolangatta Gold Coast surfer Brent Dorrington who avoided all the hassling in the final but at the same time missed all the best waves!
The girls also surfed their finals today and it was a double for New Zealand /Coolangatta based surfer Arini Mason winning her second pro junior in succession in a dream start to the Pro Junior season for the exceptionally talented 15 year old. mason looked to have made a huge mistake early in the final when she elected to surf a different sand bank to her competitors and after 10 minutes had failed to get any decent score – Fortunately, she elected to paddle 100 meter across to the more popular sandbank , quickly found a strong 7.5 ride and with 5 minutes remaining found an excellent 8 point ride to seal a big win, defeating Bronte beach surfer Nicola Atherton.
” I cant believe Ive had two wins in a row – My aim is to try and win the series this season and to start like this is fantastic!”
Victorian surfer Carl Wright was easily the best of the Victorians in this event. From Phillip island he had his best ever result at Pro Junior level finishing 5th place overall and at 17 years of age that is an exceptional performance!
For the boys – they head to the Gold Coast for the Brothers Neilsen Pro Junior which begins early this week and for the girls its off to Phillip Island for the Roxy Womens Surf Festival at Phillip Island beginning Tuesday, which will see newly crowned world champion Chelsea Georgeson step out for the first time and begin her 2006 competitive season!