| 2011 Aussie Titles // Event 30 August 2011 By: Andrew Cassidy Location: Port Macquarie The men's final was full of excitement. The conditions had deteriorated slightly with the regular wind squalls affecting the surface of outside bombs. It didn't inhibit the best of the best from revelling in the big right handers. Michael Davis had a blinder of a run through the draw and it didn't stop in the final. He snagged some of the better waves off his younger counterparts but his 44 year old body looked to be fatiguing slightly by the end of a very long day of hard core surfing. Ranked fourth in Australia is super impressive and something Mick can be very proud of. Keahi was going ballistic as usual, popping two big aerial manoeuvres on the one wave but as fate would have it, the judges weren't in the best position to gauge the height of the first one and he landed the second one on the back of the wave - he only scored a 4.4 and ended up third. Last year's winner, Jackson Close did his best to claim back to back titles but couldn't quite keep up with the precision, finesse, control and power of an in-form Justin Holland. Justin's first wave of 7.0 backed up late in the final with an 8.5 was enough to take the prestigious crown for 2011. Greeted on the sand with a congratulatory kiss by his wife and kids while draped in the Australian flag, a jubilant Holland, showed the surfing world where this great sport is heading. | |
