Well gang as the clock inches closer to the opening hooter it's time to talk Bells Beach and getting your Fantasy Surfer Team in order!!! First off the good news, looks like the Ocean will deliver and we will have some real swell for Bells!!! That means SIZE and POWER and it means you should adjust your team to have powerful, experienced surfers! Now Shea Lopez, former tour competitor and blogger for Surfer Mag, always has a great preview. Our teams are very similar at the moment so I'm gonna let Shea lead the charge here and I'll do a little chiming in.
"The first two picks are John John and Kolohe. John is molten hot after winning at Margaret River and destroying Kolohe with a near perfect 19.70 out of 20 heat total (an obvious choice here). Kolohe, on the other hand, hasn’t had the best go in heats or with critics (everyone’s a critic) since Snapper. If Kolohe wants to get anywhere near the top of the ratings this year, Bells has to be a great result for him. Because, like everyone says, Tahiti, Fiji, and Pipe are not his ideal venues—Bells is." I couldn't agree more with these two picks, both made my cut.
"My next four Fantasy Surfer picks are all very well-rounded surfers and all regularfoots. I remember watching AI grow from despising Bells and surfing sub-par there to focusing, learning, and destroying people once his talent could be properly channeled in the many different faces of Bells. Jordy Smith is on that level and will have a heat or two, and possibly even an entire event that will stand the test of time at Bells. The other three picks for my team are Julian Wilson, Brett Simpson, and Mick Fanning, as they are all more than capable of putting up Slater-stopper levels of performance" Jordy, Mick, and Julian are all good choices in my book and were on my team last event too. I'm wavering on the Brett pick. He's got the talent but he's had a rough go lately. I could be eating my words but I'm putting Wilko on my team. He's fun to watch and he's got a mean backside hack in big waves. Plus he's a goofy and you gotta have at least one on your team.
"Finally, I saved my last two spots for specialty location surfers Taylor Knox and Adam Melling. These guys are incapable of doing a proper air, but the rest of the world is incapable of surfing as powerful, precise, and on-a-rail as them. When the Bells bowl turns on, there is no canvas in surfing better suited to huge, arcing carves that expose a surfer’s weakness, literally." Good plan to add some power surfers to the roster. This is most likely the only point in the year that you'll see Knox on my team but this wave was made for him. Melling on the other hand did not make my cut. My eight pick is Josh Kerr. The dude has it all, airs, barrels, and power. Made quarters at snapper and found more barrels than anyone. I also put Patty G as my alternate.
There are some other sure bets too, Parko always kills it out there as does Kelly. Taj is hot right now and has a great chance at the finals. Owen Wright and Bede are also ones to consider. It all depends on where you want to spend your 50 Million.
So that's my team as of now. Stoked with it, I even think this might be the one Jordy wins!
I'm starting to get some industry support too! Got an awesome 36 x 24 inch Vinyl Bells Beach banner that will go to the winner of the Bells event from Ripcurl. O'neill wetsuits stepped it up and is donating a suit to the end of the year prize. Creatures of Leisure also has some gear coming our way as does Volcom and Electric. Pretty stoked on how this whole thing has evolved. Not to late to join if you haven't yet. Get into it!!!!
Club Name; Pioneers Board Shop Password; surfnh DO IT!!!!
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