It’s almost game time and the Volcom Fiji Pro is only a short time off from commencing.
My Team:
Kelly Slater – My observations from last year are that if you pick a Parko, Kelly, Taj, or a Fanning…They are pretty much golden. They all performed flawlessly in the barrels and on the open face; their turns were notches over the others. Taj went out earlier than the others but in his earlier heats was perhaps the best of the lot. Think huge arcs and spray to match.
Mick Fanning – See above.
John John Florence – 3 foot surf to bigger…he has you covered.
Fred Patacchia – Poor Freddy P. The guy has been battered and making more comebacks than Russel Winter. This, however, is Freddy’s specialty. I watched a recent video of Fred and the gang surfing a big south swell day at Ala Moana and he was not just pulling into the bowl and taking one line. He was toying with the bowl and showed that in barreling lefts he will be hard to beat.
Damien Hobgood – It is good to have a Hobgood on your team and I took the cheapest!
Dusty Payne – There is a group of guys on the WCT that show to us how cruel and hard life is on the tour. They lose by a point in this event and make a priority mistake in the other. Dusty is part of this group along with Adam Melling, Pat Gudauskas, and Brett Simpson. But we are talking about surf contests and the top guys can’t win every heat. Dusty is my pick for advancement.
Sebastian Zietz – I have been impressed with Zietz’s surfing for a long time now. He has great rail work and seems almost Fanningesque. He also has a large bag of tricks that he can pull off with ease. Like Julian Wilson, he seems destined to be a cut above his rookie classmates.
Mitch Coleborn – Last year, Mitch kind of fell apart after delivering a blistering first round assault. This year, he is even better.
Babbling!
I am waiting for the official heat draw so I do not have 6 surfers on the top of the draw and 2 on the bottom.
I will toss out some names that are good if you can work them in.
Jeremy Flores – Rio de Janiero…non! A big barreling left…Oui!!!!
Josh Kerr and Owen Wright – A mixed bag this year but these two are sleepers for a win.
The other Hobgood.
And the Brazilians and on and on and on.
I am curious to see what teams are being played. Post ’em up!
The Side Wedge 
Yeah your thoughts are once again pretty similar to mine. Will go Joel and Kelly instead of Mick, just because Joel is a bit cheaper. Taj is just too unreliable…my favourite surfer for over ten years…but…
Deciding between JJ and Medina…Medina is hard to go past because he is so damn competitive, and the goofy factor
Exactly with you on the Hobgoods
Want to find room for Owen but money is an issue…he is awesome in barreling lefts, especially if it gets big…do you have any idea how the forecast is looking
Freddy P
Will fill the rest with cheapies just before the contest
Guess what my pet peeve is…it is when someone is just frantically pumping in a barrel like they want desperately to get out. That really made me cringe last year when I was watching Medina and Pupo did it to a lesser degree. They both made some good barrels though even though they looked weak out on the face.
I heard for now the first part of the waiting period is not looking so great but could pick up towards the end. The swell window opens up to a pretty volatile area so let’s hope it changes quick!
Finalised my team, though I have changed it about ten times in the last day, so no guarantees this is what I will end up with.
Been checking some discussions about the forecast…seems there will be plenty of swell but some tricky winds?
Anyway here is my team, I am actually sacrificing a spot and just taking 7 in, as I couldnt decide between Medina and JJF, so put them both in;
JJF
Medina
Kelly
Joel
Seb Zietz
D. Hobgood
Mitch Coleburn
What do you think?
Everyone I have spoken to tells me to never do the 7 man team but all of those guys seem like winners to me! So you have to tell me how many points you end up with in the long run.
I have a load of friendly fire shaping up with Sebastian Zietz but I am taking a chance because between Zietz, Jordy (I dropped and he is the outlyer), and Freddy P.; one of them is going far.
Did you see that they added Heitor Alves to Joel’s heat? Could spell trouble for him.
haha that 1st heat was a killer for me too. I originally had both Freddy and Zietz…then I honestly changed between the three of them atleast half a dozen times. Ended up going with Zietz but think Freddy is great value. Not sure if Jordy has been too successful so far in barreling lefts…not at all to say he wont, I am actually feeling pretty confident he will be wearing a crown in about seven months time!
Not sure about the seven man team either. Also the Hobgood thing has me concerned…like everyone else I think its almost a given that one will do well…most consider them equally talented so Damien is an obvious choice because of value for money…but I have a feeling CJ in Fiji is better…and being seeded higher he will likely get a better draw…anyway, c’mon Damien and prove me wrong!
Joel drawing Heitor is a bit scary…but those top seeds get pretty friendly draws in the second round if relegated, so hopefully not too much damage done…he says with fingers crossed!
Will have one last look at forecast and draw tonight then lock em in
Kelly is still not there but I am just taking a leap of faith and not dropping him. Here goes nothing!
I’m not even into surfing, but I know the name Kelly Slater. The guy I was with when I had my accident was big-time into surfing!
Kelly and I lost touch with each other years ago but we are family friends. My father would drink beer with his father and they would watch us all (our group) surf. It seems odd to me that he is a celebrity now.
I did learn a lot from him though. You can identify what it takes to be a success in a certain field but carrying it is something very few can do. He deserves everything that he has.
That’s really cool to hear. My friend would be super jealous if he knew that you know Kelly personally! Now I’m curious and will have to look more into his life, lol.
wow thats really cool about Kelly. If I could make a list of five people in the world I would wish to meet, he would be number one, no doubt at all…think Eddie Vedder would also make that list, and I know they are friends so that would work out pretty well. And yes Jessica I am pretty sure you are like many millions of others that “know” Kelly, but dont follow surfing…he is the perfect ambassador
Didnt know he isnt there yet…quite ironic really…given that he has missed tour events in the past because he was actually in Fiji?
That will really stuff peoples teams up, not many would not have Kelly…I didnt even have someone as an alternate, so I better get that sorted…and likely that if I log into fantasy surfer again I will change my team…again!!!
Thanks for the info
I have something that I am working on for my blog. It is something from the past.
Eddie Vedder would be a cool person to meet as well. I am also crazy about Soundgarden so I would add Chris Cornell to my list too!
Yeah its sounding like a pretty good list for a backyard bbq…I liked Soundgarden a lot, but I rarely admit that I am one of the very few that liked Audioslave better
So do you have any idea what Kelly is doing…is he likely to arrive for round 2. Man people that put him and Joel in their team would be spewing. Two high priced picks that didnt show is rough. I actually dropped Joel at the last minute to make room for CJ, so am glad about that right now…though I am having a pretty bad round 1 so far.
Thanks for your info on Mitch Coleborn, it was because of that I put him in over Yadin Nichol…I knew nothing at all of him, but he looked incredible yesterday. The Hobgoods were also standouts
I lucked into a lovely job and sadly it is a night job so at the moment I am a bit out of the loop on what he is doing but I will do some detective work. If he does not make it (I think he will at this point now), I have Heitor as my alternate so I don’t feel bad.
Glad my info about Coleborn helped you out. The guy is a beast and if things pan out you might really know more about him next year. He has cracked the bubble for qualification. If he can hang on, he will be a real issue for some next year. The season is early!
Carnage in the first round with only two winning their heats, luckily four of my guys won the round two heat, lost Dusty and Medina.
May have got it right with the Hobgood situation…I had Damien in, then CJ, then both, then just Damien again…then settled on just CJ…that nearly did my head in. I didnt watch JJ versus Damien, but a mate thinks Damien was robbed…did you see it?
Glad Kelly arrived. I had put Melling as my alternate. Bit disappointed of course that Coleborn and Kelly meet in round three…not sure who to go for…Kelly likely to go further if he gets through…but then everyone has him in their team…They are the only two I have surfing against each other, so hopefully I get 5 into the 4th round.
How are you going?
I did great at first…7 into round 3 but now I have a lot of friendly fire so my team will probably be cut in half. It is that bad!
I did see the heats last night and I would have given it to John John for this reason. Damiens last wave was his best but John John’s rides were way better and longer overall. So you couldn’t give Damo an 8. something if John John’s lower rides had him getting barreled, doing big hacks on the face, and riding forever. The scale was off. Damo was getting barreled but baby turning on the face. Same thing when you watch Jordy and Keiren Perrow. Keiren was getting barreled but at the end he was just cruisy on the face. The top guys are killing it on their top turns.
How did you go there? Did you break through that mid 800s barrier. I got 894 so did pretty well, moved up a few places to eighth in the comp I am in…which is ok cos after Bells I was about 22nd.
Kelly is such a superstar. I thought all the top eight were awesome, but Kelly is still king! Bet you feel glad now you stuck with him. I also took my own advice in relation to the Hobgoods, which turned out well…and Zeitz was also a great bargain pick. Medina was the big disappointment…anyway.
What do you know about the Bali wave they are surfing, anyone in particular it will suit. Its a quick turnaround so better get to the team pretty quick!
I did really well in this comp! I got over 900 points which is great.
As for Keramas, I would say the usuals of course but for this one…Jordy and also Josh Kerr does well at this break. Taj surfs there a lot too. He needs some redemption for what is normally his strong suit.
You are right too! I have to churn out a team quick!
1st draft;
KS
Jordy
JJ
Zietz
Andino
Dusty
Toledo
Bruce, likely I will change him for another cheapie when they are available…cant see him making a round, but I do hope he proves me wrong
Pat Guadaskas or Yadin Nichol could be in so that might make things easier on the bottom end. I am not so sure about Bruce. Even at his premiere spots he has not had much luck lately. Sad.