The World Surf League ran the Western Australian event at The Box for the first time since 2019.
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00:00Looks like he's coming through for sure. Did he make a mistake? What goes wrong here?
00:04Air drop was... I did it squared up on him.
00:08He nose dived.
00:10It just dropped out and the nose just peaked. There's not much you can do.
00:13I mean, look, right there.
00:15You're blind, right? So you don't see the step coming, but you know,
00:19Jack Robinson, John John Florence, they kind of know it's there.
00:22So how do you distribute your weight? What's the best plan of attack in this situation?
00:27I don't know. Just hang on.
00:30I guess having a shorter board maybe because if he was up on the nose of his board a little bit more,
00:35it wouldn't have, like, nosed or picked on it.
00:3921 and a half minutes to go. Some movement here.
00:42Crosby's got the priority.
00:44Looking to get himself into position for this one.
00:47He'll commit.
00:48Let's see if he can find the exit.
00:50Ducks under the lip.
00:51It's cascading in a big way and he finds his way through it.
00:55This will be the best number of the heats so far.
00:57It's been a bit of a slow start for this one.
00:59Just throw away scores up until now.
01:01Yeah, it's crazy. I mean, out in the water, I had so much emotion coming out of me.
01:05I was kind of crying and stuff.
01:07But it's just wild.
01:08Like, you know, I started the year, broke my elbow and then went to Portugal.
01:12Didn't really get a result.
01:13And then El Sal got a third.
01:14I'm like, all right, I'm right back in this.
01:15It's like, I can do it.
01:16And then came over here and lost in the round of 32 in the first two events over here.
01:21So I was kind of like, there's a lot of doubt coming into this one.
01:24But then just trying to lean into belief and like all the hard work I've done and all the preparation.
01:29And I was really inspired by, like, Seth's story last year of coming in here and kind of doing what I just did.
01:34So just kind of coming in here with the belief of doing it and then also having this opportunity to create a special moment like this right here.
01:42Mate, I know you would have been absolutely charged up to surf the box this morning.
01:46But, you know, that was a really tricky heat.
01:48The wind kind of shifted a little bit.
01:50The end sections were real clampy.
01:52How did you keep your wits about you in that one with so much on the line?
01:57Yeah, you know, going out there, I knew that it would help to make the cut if I made that heat.
02:02But I didn't know for sure I'd solidify my spot.
02:04So I was honestly feeling pretty free.
02:06But I had two waves that I was, like, coming out and then I just got, like, clipped at the end and fell forward.
02:12So that was really hard because I was, like, really excited to get a really good barrel out there because everyone was getting sick waves this morning.
02:19But, you know, I'll take it.
02:20A four and a one, like, I'm happy with that and excited to keep going in this event and, you know, going for the back half of the year in Lowers.
02:28That's it, man.
02:28You get to surf in front of your home crowd.
02:31But you've also unlocked, you know, J-Bay, Chobes, like, all these fantastic waves.
02:35And maybe even have a run at, you know, a miracle run into the top five.
02:39But it must be so sick and so satisfying to be in this position right now after all that you've faced.
02:44Oh, it's amazing.
02:46You know, like, I don't want to separate from my brother.
02:48Like, I love doing this stuff and Cole, too.
02:50Like, it's just so much fun.
02:52And, I mean, either way, I was kind of accepted the fact if I do go back, it's still amazing.
02:56Like, we're still having a fun life.
02:57I'm still hanging with great friends.
02:59But just to, you know, be heading to J-Bay and Chobes and Lowers and so many fun spots, I'm just, like, so grateful.
03:06And just really, like, I just feel really grateful for this moment right here in this feeling.
03:10Good on you, man.
03:11Enjoy it.
03:12You've worked so hard to get back from that really devastating injury at the start of the year that kept you out of events that you really wanted to surf.
03:18So this is a wonderful result for you.
03:20Congrats.