Northland surfers dominate first stage in Billabong Grom Series

Northland's Tai Erceg-Grey on his way to beating national champion Navyrn Malone to take the under 14 title. Photo / Col

Two Northland surfers made a strong start in the first event of the Billabong Grom Series in Mount Maunganui last weekend.

Tai Erceg-Grey and Tom Robinson competed in the under-14 and under-16 divisions respectively with both winning their finals in the first of a three-part series. The next stage of the competition will be held in Whangamata on February 10 -11.

"When I was coming in, I saw that I was ahead, then another guy got a wave which kept us hanging for a while, but I was grinning from ear to ear once I was told I won," Erceg-Grey said.

A member of the North Coast Boardriders surf club, Erceg-Grey recently finished third at the national surfing competition in Taranaki and even though he wouldn't know the final result for 15 minutes after his last wave, he was ecstatic with his performance.

"I was thinking, 'this is pretty sick' because I've never got a first or second before so I was pretty stoked."

With the confidence gained from his performance at the nationals, Erceg-Grey was convinced he would avenge his first-round exit at the same competition last year.

"I definitely thought I could and I hoped I could do well and make the final at this tournament and it managed to happen."

Northland's Tom Robinson putting in a stellar performance which earned him the under 16 crown. Photo / Col

Erceg-Grey's path to the final wasn't smooth surfing. He managed to scrape through his heats, often as the second qualifier, until he reached the final. Waiting for him was recent age-group national champion Navyrn Malone from Raglan, who would give the young Northlander a tough battle for the title.

"There were a few different names that you haven't heard of, really good underground surfers but I just really wanted to beat [Malone]," he said.

Competitors were judged on two waves with each wave being scored out of 10. Erceg-Grey said high scores were hard to come by with the surfing reaching just two or three feet in height.

The scores from the three stages of the competition would go towards an overall points tally, in which Erceg-Grey and Robinson have put themselves in good stead after winning the first stage.

After spending days out on the water and in the gym, Erceg-Grey felt confident he had what it took to succeed across the three stages.

"I reckon I could do quite well, I'm obviously hoping to take it out but I'd like to be up there."

After the second stage in Whangamata, the competition will have its final stage at Piha on February 24-25.