Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach: Day 2

Any day where we get to see Kelly Slater surf twice in real-time is a good day, even when he gets bounced out of the event.

We’ve taken it for granted for so long and now that we are right on the cusp of the candle going out we treasure it like a rare and fragile bird. Miracles have been known to happen, of course - the empty tomb being the most famous and timely example - but there was no resurrection miracle for Kelly Slater today.

In a final presser with Rosie, Kelly looked cold and vulnerable. His thoughts on the now almost certain outcome of being cut from the Tour: “It sucks”.

Kelly put his fate down to having “been in a slump for a year” and carrying an injury since Bells last year. Who among us would have the courage to say to his face - Kelly, that's called getting old.

It feels like ages since we have seen Kelly lay down a decent ride, a few turns stitched cleanly together. And we did get that today. He looked great in his Elimination heat with Carlos and Connor. Opened with a soap around the bath-tub roundhouse and threw plenty of variety at a mixed up Bells linuep whipped by a ferocious sou-west gale. The 12 point total was his highest of the season, which says everything really about his level of competitiveness.

Against Kanoa Igarashi he could only muster a 10.43. A nicely put together 6 was easily topped by a younger, stronger, hungrier opponent who managed a solid high 7.

He's gone, vamos, kaput.

Now the Sport's governing body needs to figure out what to do with the GOAT.

My suggestion: sack ELO and make Kelly CEO.

Lets see if he really is the smartest guy in the room.

Kelly Slater (photo: Beatriz Ryder)

Bottom dwellers rose and fell today, which made for exciting viewing. Connor O'Leary banged it up hard to best Nat Young. Jacko Baker laid down big turns to get the win over Leo Fioravanti who was gracious enough to admit later that Baker had simply outsurfed him. No weasel words or excuses required.

M-Rod squeaked past Italo with a wave on the buzzer from the 2019 Bells Champ deemed to have been started after the hooter (it looked OK to me). There was a brief moment of volcanic fury in Ferriera's demeanour which threatened to erupt, but without the Make Or Break camera crews there to cash in on the drama Italo has clearly been warned after the previous tower storming. Surely a query from Italo's team was appropriate though. M-Rod gets a chance to surf for his career.

Michael Rodrigues (photo: Beatriz Ryder)

As does Reunion Island native and balding rookie Maxime Huscenot who calmly dispatched Caio Ibelli by roof riding on tall walls of wind stippled water and riding clean of the explosions.

Zeke Lau, Kolohe Andino join Kelly in the below the cut line 17th club. Kolohe has already said he is ready for relegation, Zeke has made noises about retiring and Kelly still believes he is retiring after the 2024 Olympics.

Of the two womens elimination Rd heats run it was Brisa Hennesy and Johann Defay who felt the cold sting of Southern Ocean defeat.

Injury wildcards will assume added importance with the mid-year cut.

Kelly has made a possible play with his claims of surfing injured.

Defay has a case to make.

There should be riots in the streets if Ramzi Boukhiam doesn't receive one.

It's not often Kelly gets upstaged by a retirement but the day belonged, as far as sentiment goes, to Owen Wright who surfed his last heat as a Professional Surfer. He was fine and smooth but easily outclassed by Ethan Ewing which showed the two times Owen failed to make the cut weren't aberrations and he really was a spent force.

Owen Wright (photo: Beatriz Ryder)

His career was insane and I don't really have anything to add to the accolades except to note that before the head injury and in his true prime, as he battled Kelly Slater in 2010-12, including the famous three finals (Teahupoo, New York and Trestles) Owen suffered a serious back injury which completely derailed his Title momentum. Sans this back injury I believe he would have at least one World Title. At the time his air game was immense. Post back injury it was rarely sighted.

94% of fans expected Jack Robinson to beat Wildcard ranga Xaxier Huxtable. Xavier was not intimidated and threw scoreboard pressure at Jack with some meaty hacks in the lip. Still, no one on Tour does better in a come from behind pressure situation.

Three minutes to play Jack needs a 7.36 and the ocean throws a jumbled mess of sets at the yellow jersey requiring a mountain of defensive duck diving work. Fifteen seconds on the clock Robbo attacks a frothy insider with a big layback hook. He over-cooks it and the lower limbs bend at an awkward angle, with a knee injury the outcome. We have no diagnosis but Jack went out on the back of a golf cart, not on his own two legs, which is a bad sign.

Jack Robinson (photo: Beatriz Ryder)

Bugs, Ronnie, Richie, Laura: Australians do Pro Surfing better, can we all agree on that? Even Turpel is improved by being in their close proximity. Kaipo somehow becomes more comprehensible, although he neglected to correct Bugs mistake when he claimed Robbo was going from here to Margaret River to G-Land. G-land is gone back to the jungle Bugs, we are off to the Tub post-cut. No, I can't wait either. Even jumbled up messy old onshore Bells still holds up. Thrills and spills in the shorey and big turns out the back. The cut has somehow given the old girl a new lease on life.

Not enough of a new lease on life for Kelly. My favourite confluence of events happened as he was on the sand with the last heat of the day in the water. Kelly went for a fist bump with Kanoa and Kanoa 'wrapped' the fist with a 'paper' open hand. It was a subtle but unmissable sign of alpha dominance.

Seawards, Griffin Colapinto was laying seamless power carves through the bowl, peppered with fins free repertoire. Kelly had never looked less relevant, by pure comparison. Even the famous mind games had now been treated with disdain by a younger crew, even if sub-consciously.

John John Florence (photo: Beatriz Ryder)

Griffin and John John Florence looked the most complete today. But the real drama is down the arse end as pro surfer tears get loosed by the upcoming cut which ELO has already pledged to reform.

Not to worry, even just being able to hold a ladder these days is enough to earn a living in the mines. Sport is more fun to watch when there are careers on the line.

//STEVE SHEARER