The women’s side of the 2021 Newcastle Cup is headlined by three of the best to ever do it in Tyler Wright, Carissa Moore and Stephanie Gilmore, all of whom look set to challenge for another world title this year. But while each of them will be tough to beat, there are plenty capable of doing just that, including the likes of Lakey Peterson, Sally Fitzgibbons and Caroline Marks. Let’s take a look at all the best chances to take out the inaugural CT version of the Newcastle Cup, as well as a roughie we think could cause a surprise.
The Favourites
We’ve already alluded to who we think are the biggest chances at the Newcastle Cup, so it’s no surprise who you’ll find in this list. Tyler Wright deservedly sits at the top, returning to the waters in her home country after beginning the season with a win at Pipe. She appears to be back to the kind of form which saw her win back-to-back world titles in 2016 and 2017. Historically her best performances have come at heavier beach breaks than what you’ll find in Newcastle – she’s a two-time winner at Hossegor and a three-time winner at the Oi Rio Pro – but she’s one of the best all-round surfers on the planet, so she won’t exactly be struggling for a score out there.
Perhaps her biggest threat is Steph Gilmore. Not only is Gilmore one of three most successful surfers ever, but she’s also demonstrated an affinity for this wave, winning the Newcastle Cup way back in 2008. Of course, that was the year she won her second of seven world titles and she was probably closer to the top of her game then than she is now, but she’s not exactly past it as of 2021. She was the world champion just three years ago and is still in the top handful of surfers on the planet, and it could easily be argued that her best is better than any of her competitors. She’ll be around the mark.
Rounding out this tremendous trio is the only non-Australian in it, Carissa Moore. Four-time world champion, reigning world champion, and winner of an enormous 23 total events on the Championship Tour – her resumé speaks for itself. You can put your house on the fact that she’ll still be in the mix at the business end of the tournament, such is her consistency. When Moore won the world title in 2019, her two throwaway scores (i.e. her worst two performances of the season) came when she finished fifth at the Rip Curl Pro and Corona Bali Protected. In all of the other eight events she finished either third, second or first, so if she’s not in the semis here it will be a shock.
The Next Tier
This could be a pretty big tier, but we’ll try to keep it as brief as possible, starting off with Sally Fitzgibbons. She has to be given a huge chance here. Incredibly consistent over more than a decade on tour, she’s probably a rung below the top few on tour these days, and has won just two events since 2015. Newcastle, however, is one of her favourite places to surf. She is the only surfer to win here three times since the event moved to Mereweather Beach back in 2007, having taken out the event in 2012, 2016 and 2019. Clearly she’ll have tougher competition now that it’s on the Championship Tour, but that kind of record is hard to ignore.
Lakey Peterson is another who warrants plenty of respect heading into Newcastle. Many would argue that she deserves to be put on the platform with the likes of Wright, Gilmore and Moore as the world’s best, and it’s hard to disagree given that she’s finished second and third in the last two full seasons. The Santa Barbaran is hardly out of her comfort zone in Australia, either – she is married to a Victorian and has one in Australian waters in the past, and made three finals in the past three years in Australian events.
The final spot on this tier could go to a number of names – Courtney Conlogue will likely be in the final few, and Tatiana Weston-Webb is a chance as well. Caroline Marks, however, is so undeniably talented that it’s very easy to envision her beginning the Australian leg with a win. The world title runner-up in 2019, she was lethal in Australia that season, winning on the Gold Coast and finishing third at Bells a couple of weeks later, while she also enjoyed another third-place finish at Bells the year prior when she had only just turned 16 years old. Still just 19, she is by far the most promising young surfer on tour, and could easily topple the favourites at Newcastle.
The Roughies
Johanne Defay is at long odds to cause an upset at Newcastle, but as a past winner at the event she has to be given some chance. That, of course, was not an event with the depth of competition that this one will boast, and she’s also won just twice on the Championship Tour in her career. Those wins came at Uluwatu and Fiji, barrelling left-handers which suggest she’ll be more comfortable at this event if we get a north-east swell and surf at Dixon Park. There’s plenty going against her but she has a couple of things in her favour too, and if she gets conditions to suit could easily be a surprise packet.
Just a couple of days out from the event, conditions don’t look likely to be ideal in the first couple of days of the waiting period, so it may not be until this weekend or even next week that we finally get this event underway. When we do, however, there are a host of competitors who will consider themselves genuine chances to take out the first-ever Championship Tour edition of the Newcastle Cup.
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