| 
 Well,
we're creeping up on the final day and things are starting to get really interesting
here at North Narra. Today the waves moved into the sort of fun range - still
small, but a bit bigger and bit cleaner, and Contest Director Luke Egan declared
his hand - as many heats as possible. In the end, he baulked and pulled the plug
with four round three heats to go, but it was still a rich and rewarding smorgasbord.
Because
I'm rushing to get up there for the penultimate day, I'll just stick to the bare
bones. Six stand out heats… Adriano de Souza vs. Tamaroa
McComb In round two, 14 year old Tamaroa pulled off the
wave of the day. It was stunning, but it was so unlikely that one so young could
surf so well, and as it faded into memory, you tended to discount it as a fluke.
It wasn't a fluke, and in his match up with the WCT powerhouse, Tamaroa went within
a bee's dick of the upset of the event.  Needing
a low six after posting the highest score of the heat, Tamaroa picked off a smaller
one without prioirity, nailed a lovely opening combo of moves before getting 95%
of the way through a close out air that would have guaranteed him the points and
some.
Every year this event unearths someone you never heard
of and slingshots them into the collective surfing consciousness. Tamaroa McComb
is a remarkable surfer for one so young, and you will hear a lot more about him
in the next decade or two. Dion Atkinson vs Brandon Jackson Not
because it was close, you understand, just because Dion surfed beautifully. Big,
swooping hacks tight in the pocket, displacing mountains of spray and executed
at speed and with precision. Dion had those big thigh muscles moving in perfect
harmony. The first South Australian World Champ? It's not so fanciful.  Heitor
Peirera vs Granger Larsen
Granger was a stand up chance
here, but Heitor Pereira erased him from the slate with contemptuous ease. Heitor's
not totally unknown in this country, but it's fair to say that he hadn't really
registered yet. He has now. Heitor is a member of a very rare species - a Brazilian
surfer with style and flair. True to his heritage, he's small, quick and tight,
but unlike just about any of his compatriots I can think of, he's elegant, refined
and powerful as well. Worth watching. Mitch Coleborn vs
Luke Cheadle Luke Cheadle's Cinderella story evaporated
in this heat as the waves completely deserted him, but Mitch Coleborn continued
his run from the Trials to post another convincing win. Mitch is in really nice
touch, and is greatly assisted by his uncanny ability to find every single good
wave to come through - he did it in round one and again here. His backhand attack
is looking pretty lethal, but will have to be to get past event standout Matt
Wilkinson in round 4. Another all Aussie battle is a bit of a bummer, but at least
we're certain to get a minimum one surfer into the quarters - we've been unable
to do that for three years. Dylan Graves vs Pierre Valentin
Laborde Laborde stuck his head above the pack in round
2 with some very vert backhand whacks and the round highest total. He did it here
again today to eject the final USA surfer, Dylan Graves, from contention. The
backhand air reverse he pulled on the close out Alley Right end section was one
of the two or three best of the day. Sage Erickson vs Coco
Ho The other big 14 year old story here is Coco Ho. She's
young and needs to beef up a bit, but this little girl can really surf. In surf
like this, she is the technical equal of Steph Gilmore, but without, obviously,
the raw power of the woman who will (I think we can be reasonably certain about
this) win here. It's really nice to know that as Coco moves up the ranks, Steph
won't have it all her own way. Women's surfing needs a quality rivalry like that. So
there you have. As I'm writing this early on Saturday morning, the swell has kicked
in and the Narra lefts are firing for the first time since the lights went green.
Today will be a corker, and I'm off to claim my perch on the dune. Just don't
block my view, OK? | 
