Lion Foundation Surf League teams named

There’s a strong trans-Tasman flavour to the eight provincial surf lifesaving teams named today for next month’s Lion Foundation Surf League in Mount Maunganui.

While all of the combatants are New Zealanders, 20 of the 104 competing athletes have based themselves in Australia during the pre-season to take advantage of the white-hot competition on offer there.

With athletes like three-time national ironman champion Daniel Moodie (Hawke’s Bay), sprinters Paul Cracroft-Wilson (Taranaki) and Ben Willis (Wellington) all returning on February 7 and 8, the scene is set for a dramatic showdown.

“We’ve never had this many surf athletes based in Australia before, where the training and weekly competition is so much more intense,” SLSNZ sport manager Mark Weatherall said.

“They’re all returning to test themselves in Mount Maunganui and they’re likely to lift the standard several notches.”

Cracroft-Wilson earlier this month won the lucrative Ocean Assault beach flags title in Queensland and will lead a strong Taranaki team hunting their first ever Surf League title.

The closest the province has come in the 15-year history of the event was a pair of second-placings, in 2002 and 2006, but they’ve been given a huge boost with the inclusion of New Zealand captain Glenn Anderson.
Anderson is bidding for an extraordinary treble, having won the last two titles with Gisborne (2007) and Bay of Plenty (2008). Now the coach of the strong New Plymouth Old Boys club, he and rising Australian-based talent Daniel Nelson will be strong contenders in the men’s ironman.

Two other perennial favourites, three-time winners Gisborne and four-time champions Auckland have also amassed strong teams.

Orewa teenagers Teneale Hatton and Rachel Clarke have been performing brilliantly in Queensland over the past three months, while world champion IRB driver Danny Morrison is back for his 10th Surf League campaign.

Gisborne will be led again by board supremo Matt Sutton and rising ironwoman Madison Boon, while Midway brothers Dan and Mike Janes have been based at the strong Kurrawa club on the Gold Coast since the end of last season.

Otago returns to Surf League competition after missing last year, boasting top New Zealand butterfly swimmer and national surf representative Andy McMillan in its lineup.

Brothers Mike and Sam Kinraid will lead the Southeners’ IRB hopes while they’ve also fared well in the draft, picking up current national women’s beach sprint champion Arna Wright (Mt Maunganui) and talented Mairangi Bay ironwoman Bailey Elliott.

Four-time champions Canterbury will look to evergreen 32-year-old sprinter Morgan Foster, who has enjoyed success this season in the Ocean Assault series in Queensland, while the Julian brothers, Simon and John, will command the IRB.

Hosts Bay of Plenty are likely to be in a rebuilding phase after winning last year, though New Zealand squad members Johanna O’Connor, Chelsea Maples and Andrew Newton will ensure they are competitive.
Wellington’s chances hinge on the success of gun world beach flags champion Ben Willis and his New Zealand teammate Steven Kent, while Hawke’s Bay’s Moodie is unbeaten over the ironman distance in the last two Surf Leagues.

His provincial teammate Nikki Cox, who won the board race at last year’s world championships, is also the warm favourite in the ironwoman competition.

The fast-paced, two-day event will feature 17 events a day, with under-19 athletes competing on Mount Maunganui's Main Beach in the morning and senior athletes doing battle in the afternoon.

Lion Foundation Surf League open teams:

Auckland: Cameron Pocock, Kevin Morrison, Danny Morrison, Travis Mitchell, Andrew Lancaster, Michael Jack, Chris Moors, Ash Matuschka, Vaughan Roberts, Jess Parr, Rachel Clarke, Teneale Hatton, Tamsyn McGarva.

Gisborne: Matt Sutton, Mike Janes, Daniel Janes, Daniel Harris, Mike Morrissey, Mike King, Duncan Pearse, Maia Gibbs, Josh Utanga, Sean Hovell, Rebecca Wright, Madison Boon, Aimee Berridge.

Bay of Plenty: Brad Wilson, Blair Dunn, Sam Newlands, Kurt Wilson, Andrew Newton, Quentin Cribb, Matt Strange, Johanna O’Connor, Chelsea Maples, Jason Carswell, Matthew Cowley, Katrina Madill, Holly Moczydlowski.

Taranaki: Jaron Mumby, Chris Scott, Paul Cracroft-Wilson, Glenn Anderson, Daniel Nelson, Katie Watts, Dylan Dunlop-Barrett, Ayla Dunlop-Barrett, Jamie lee Reynolds, Nicole Herbert, Kent Fraser, James Morwood, Campbell Begg.

Hawke's Bay: Nick Anderson, Shane Bennett, Adam Moffitt, Dan Moodie, Scott Bicknell, Jared Phelps, Effie Milne, Nikki Cox, Sean Collins, Blair Jacobs, Luke Aitken, Claire Benson, Lydia Diver.

Wellington: Richard Whinham, Brent Harvey, Marty McDowell, Steven Kent, Nick Mulcahy, Georgia Hind, Sam Blyde, Ben Willis, Mitchell Logan, Kayla Imrie, Leah Warnock, Sam Lee, Tyler Maxwell.

Canterbury: Morgan Foster, Liam O’Loughlin, Peter Rattray, Steven Armstrong, Carl Righton, Don McNelly, Chanel Hickman, Jonelle Quane, Mark Cresswell, Hayden Surgenor, Megan Brooker, Simon Julian, John Julian.

Otago: Finn O’Connor, Michael Hastie, Heath Ratten, Sam McCutcheon, Jason Coombes, Mike Kinraid, Sam Kinraid, Andrew McMillan, Carla Laughton, Stephanie Laughton, Joe Kemp, Bailey Elliot, Arna Wright.

Lion Foundation Surf League under-19 teams:

Auckland: Brent Matushka, David Butt, Mike Lee, AJ Maney, Sam Cosgrove, Sam Darwin, Nick Malcolm, Teneale Hatton, Rachel, Clarke, Kirsty Wannan.

Bay of Plenty: Chelsea Maples, Katrina Madill, Carla Van Bommel, Brooke Shergold, Tim Johns, Jordan Hills, Joe Kayes, Jason Watts, Sam Newlands, Jamie Banhidi.

Canterbury: Sinaed Lomax, Pania Watson, Tara Smith, Steven Drabble, Jack Nash, Alex Fort, Tom Mouldey, Ryan Quickenden, Rory Taylor, George Thomas.

Gisborne: Jack Gavin, Toby Harris, Darryl Fitzgerald, Pera Gibbs, Oliver Puddick, Stu McGregor, Blair Hovell, Lucy Gavin, Laura Quilter, Sophie Pearce.

Hawke's Bay: Larissa Cowlrick, Katie Moodie, Sophie Pert, Lydia Diver, Ben Gillies, David Benson, Ashton Tuck, Ben Cross, Michael Harman, Hamish Beattie.

Taranaki: Nick Horo (capt), Mitchell Gregg, Isaac Owen, Scott Nelson, Jared Gray, Alannah May, Nikaele Gilmer, Caitlin Coughtrey, Casey Stevens, Ash Kelly.

Otago: Ben Pickles, Ant Jackson, Ben Davidson, Ryan Shanks, Sophie Robb, Carina Doyle, Joe Kemp, Adam Simpson, Leesa Barton, Karina Radley.

Wellington: Ryan Cox, Danny McDowell, Will McDowell, Tyler Paek, Mitchell Logan, Kelsey Moffart, Kayla Imrie, Sam Lee, Megan Blair, Almiro Clere.