With his big brother missing, Mikey Wright brought Culburra Beach back from the brink before pipping Merewether at the post in a thrilling Australian Boardriders Battle grand final at Newcastle beach on Sunday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Culburra, featuring Wright and his sister, two-time world champion Tyler Wright, looked out of contention after bowing out of the teams section on Saturday.
However, Mikey, filling the void as Culburra’s No.1 male surfer with his brother and world No.6, Owen Wright, a no-show, won three heats in the skins division, held in damaging 10-foot surf, on Sunday morning, to give his club hope.
They finished fourth on the pointscore, prompting some members to be rushed back from the airport, for their shot at the title against North Narrabeen, Merewether and North Shelly in the one-hour culmination to two days of skins, women’s and teams events involving 24 clubs.
In powerful swell, the decider came down the last five minutes and 30 seconds when final hopes Wright and Merewether’s Jackson Baker, who could both catch only one wave as their club’s power surfer, hit the water together with Culburra holding a 0.61 advantage.
Baker made sure he avoided a five-point time penalty, sticking a two-turn ride before getting back to the change-over area with under two minutes remaining.
Wright caught his wave with 53 seconds left, pulling off two big turns before a desperate 14-second sprint up the beach to cross the line just as time expired. Judges deemed he made it in time despite replays casting some doubt on the call.
Wright was given a 5.25 and Baker a 4.9, giving Culburra a 31.05 to 30.1 victory. North Narrabeen were third on 29 and North Shelly finished on 19.5 after incurring a time penalty.
Wright was a deserved winner of the Wayne Bartholomew Medal for the best performing male surfer at the national final.
“I had no watch on so I didn’t know how long was left,” Wright said of his last-minute clincher.
“But then when I took off, I heard them say 53 seconds, so I knew I could surf the wave and still get back to the beach in time. I knew when I got to the beach and took my leggie off that I had to run and put in the hard yards.”
Wright said it was a special win for the Culburra Beach club, which was formed in 2014. The rest of the grand final team was Jordy and Ty Watson and Jordan Dank.
“It’s only been running for a couple of years now and to come away and win one of these is amazing,” Wright said. “We’ve been a bit unlucky in other years, and for this year, to get back in on points after surfing this morning, and to come away with the win, we’re stoked.”
Ryan Callinan won three skins for Merewether on Saturday and helped them take out their teams quarter-final on Sunday. However, he was rested for the semi-final and the preliminary final because of a knee injury.
It was Merewether’s best result in the event, after two thirds, and coach Luke Egan said “everyone on the team put in a stellar performance”.
“We lost but it was something out of our control, Mikey Wright’s was just a stellar performance,” Egan said. “That was textbook.
“It’s awesome for the team. This is the best we’ve ever done in it and we’ve done it at home so you can’t ask for much more. We even rested Ryan because he’s got a wobbly knee and we still got there, so we can’t complain at all.”
Egan praised the efforts of Baker, who surfed the skins on Sunday and filled in for Callinan as the club’s power surfer, who competes twice in the teams heats.
“It seemed like the more pressure we put on Jacko, the better he went,” Egan said.
“We were working out that the more we ragged on him to do good and go hard, he did better.”
Stalwarts Mitch Ross and Travis Lynch were also standouts for Merewether, who finished third on the pre-grand final pointscore.
“You just know you can count on them in the middle there,” he said.
“They’ve done so many of these. You know if we need time, they will make it up and if we need a big score, they’ll get it.”
Baker was happy with his performance.
“I knew it could be a battle of people not getting in and that’s what happened to North Shelly,” Baker said.
“I knew they were 0.7 ahead, so I had to outscore Mikey and when a wave came my way, I thought, ‘I’ve got him.’
“We’ve got third twice in this before, so to go one better, it shows the depth of the club. To win at home would have been nice, but in a the final like that, it is quite challenging and the waves have been hard.”
Mikey Wright added: “I surfed with my sister but the whole team is like family. I’ve known everyone pretty much on the team since I was a grom. Especially the Watsons, I’ve known them since I could walk. They used to hold me as a baby, so to surf with them as a team and win this, we’re all cheering.
“This morning the waves were good and I knew there was still a chance we could still get in, so I just surfed hard for it, and just kept finding those gems.”
EARLIER: Merewether finished last in the teams final but had enough points to take third overall in the Australian Boardriders Battle and qualify for the grand final at Newcastle.
They are taking on North Shelly, North Narrabeen and Culburra in the decider from 4.30pm.
UPDATE: Jackson Baker stepped up as Merewether Surfboard Club’s power surfer to help them qualify for the teams final at the Australian Boardriders Battle on Sunday at Newcastle.
With Ryan Callinan rested because of a knee injury, Baker took over as the club’s No.1 surfer, scoring 6.75 early before returning to finish the 50-minute semi-final with a 6.05 to take Merewether from third to first place with two minutes left.
Travis Lynch was another standout for Merewether, scoring a 6.05 in their total of 24.5. Burleigh Heads were second with 19.85 to make the final. Snapper Rocks were last and eliminated with 18.7.
The win lifted Merewether to top spot on the overall pointscore ahead of the second semi.
SUNDAY MORNING: Stalwart Travis Lynch starred as Merewether Surfboard Club powered into the teams semi-finals and put one foot in the decider at the Australian Boardriders Battle on Sunday at Newcastle.
In big, dangerous swell, Lynch top-scored for Merewether with a 7.55 in the teams quarter-finals against class line-ups Avoca, Elouera and host region wildcards Frenchmans.
Lynch’s effort and a 5.35 from Mitch Ross gave power surfer Ryan Callinan, who started the 50-minute heat with a 6.5, about eight minutes to grab the crucial final score.
Callinan earned a 6.4, despite a finishing-move fall, to give Merewether a 31.5 total and the win over Elouera (31.2). Avoca, the defending champions and first-day leaders, were third with (25.35) and eliminated.
The win put Merewether into the teams semi-finals and gave them enough points to all but make the decider featuring the top four sides based on results over skins, women’s and teams contests.
Merewether were second behind North Shelly on the pointscore heading into the teams semi-finals, where Callinan was rested because of an ongoing knee problem.
Given the churning swell, women and juniors were exempt from the quarter and semi-finals of the teams event but they were to return to the format for the preliminary final.
Earlier, Jackson Baker was eliminated from round two of the skins in his first heat despite a 7.5 with five minutes remaining to take the lead. Mikey Wright struck late with a nine to claim the skin for Culburra.
Baker backed up in the teams win with a 5.7 as the second surfer.
On Saturday, Callinan repeated his skins heroics of 2017 to put Merewether into second place after day one.
The former championship tour competitor won three heats in a row, as he did in last year’s national final at Newcastle, to be the standout performer in the four-man heats, elimination format featuring each of the 24 clubs’ No.1 surfer.
Callinan posted high scores of 8.1, 7.5 and 8.5 in each contest to prevail.
Merewether finished second to Elouera in round one of the team’s division to progress to round two ahead of South Arm and Culburra.
“I’m really fired up for this year and kicking off the season with this event is perfect,” Callinan said.
“There is so much pressure to perform for your club so it’s no different to a big heat on the QS or in a CT. Having everyone here on the beach cheering makes it such a great atmosphere and definitely lifts you to perform.”
