SURFING - Smooth style has Paul riding high at Piha

Northland surfer Paul Moretti ended up in two finals at the Billabong Grom Series on Sunday at Piha and although his best result was a third place in the under-14 final, he still netted a trip to Australia.
It was Moretti's consistency over the three-competition series that earned him the U-14 series win and the free trip to Australia to take part in the Billabong Parko Grom Stomp held on the Gold Coast in July.
Moretti knocked out his older brother Joe, on the way to the final of the U-16 competition but at least Joe took the satisfaction of scoring one of the best rides on Saturday.
Joe won a camera for notching up the top score in all of the heats on Saturday but was in trouble on Sunday when the swell dropped overnight - along with a north-westerlies wind that further made surfing more difficult for finals day.
The younger Moretti was beaten in the inconsistent 1-1.5m waves in U-14 final by local surfer Elliot Paerata-Reid, who narrowly escaped a last second defeat by good friend and fellow local Waretini Wano.
Paerata-Reid used his local knowledge to navigate his way through the tricky onshore conditions linking up some good rides to post an 11.85 point heat total.
Wano finished second ahead of Moretti but the Mimiwhangata surfer did more than enough to win the series, pipping Wano overall by 50 points on the ratings.
Moretti showed some understandable fatigue in the final of the U-16 final and was outclassed by Raglan's Ben Poulter. Mount Maunganui's Todd Doyle was second with Piha surfer Tane Wallis finishing in third place.
Poulter's sibling Alexis won the women's U-16 divisions in style, while Whangamata's Ella Williams dominated the U-14 girls' final scoring 13.5 points to win her second event in a row, while Piha's Claudia Fraser won her first ever event in the U-12 girls' final.
Sandy Bay up-and-comer Manu Scott-Arrieta had to settle for second in the under-12 competition for a frustrating third time in the series.
The event was won by Gisborne's Korbin Hutchings, making it a hat-trick of wins in the Billabong Grom Series - the only surfer to complete the feat - even though he was one of three surfers, who went into the final event with the chance to do so.
Scott-Arrieta was second, with the Mount's Quin Matenga third and Muriwai surfer Blake Haven fourth.