Lady Luck departs from Northland's side

The Northland scholastic surfing team's luck deserted them on the final day of the national championships in Gisborne, with all three of their remaining surfers failing to make the finals.
Both Moretti brothers, Joe and Paul, were unexpectedly knocked out in the semifinals held at Makarori Beach yesterday and their defeat ended Northland's hopes of finishing better than their eventual seventh placing.
It was the 22nd running of the popular event, with eight divisions of competition and Northland surfers well represented across the board - except possibly in the female divisions. The team received a body blow before they even left for the event with the accomplished Paxti Scott-Arrieta unable to compete after injuring himself surfing in Bali.
The Morreti boys stepped in to compensate. Joe looked in great form from the start of the competition, winning his first two heats easily and progressing through to the under-18 quarterfinals, where he also won handily before struggling to find waves in the semifinal. Mount Maunganui's JC Susan was the eventual champion.
The two other Northland U18 entries, Alex Seymour and Dominic Bowden, had to pass through repercharges to qualify for the second round but neither surfer made it into the third round. In the U16 division, Paul looked to repeat his recent success at the Ocean and Earth Rampage series recently where he won the national title and a trip to the world final in Australia. He also was knocked out in the semifinal with Taranaki's Sean Kettle taking the honours in the final.
Alex Seymour cruised through the first two rounds but was knocked out in the quarterfinal, while Jack Treacy was eliminated in the second round. There was more good news in the U14 division, with Matthew McGregor posting his best result at a national competition by reaching the semifinal. All of the surfers in the division surfed well. Flyn Cribb got off to a rough start when he was dumped out of his first round heat. However, he bounced back with a good repercharge heat on Wednesday and then claimed a second placing in the second round to make the quarterfinals, where he was just eliminated.
Rhys Whitaker didn't have the same luck and failed to pass through the repercharges. Matthew McGregor and Joe Palmer both surfed their way through the opening two rounds into the quarterfinals, with Palmer finishing third in the quarterfinal and McGregor placing second to earn a place in the semifinals.