The under 18s finals featured Phillips, of Ulladulla Boardriders with two to three foot offshore walls making the perfect canvas for some first class surfing.

New South Wales duo Micah Margieson and Molly Picklum were crowned under 18 boys and girls Surf Dive ‘n Ski Australian Junior Surfing Champions in clean head high left-hand waves in what were two hotly contested and highly entertaining finals.

In the boys final, Margieson got off to a quick start with a 6.50 point ride (out of a possible 10 points) in the first 30 seconds. He then waited until the last five minutes to put the nail in the coffin with a memorable finish.

Wave selection was critical and young ‘Margo’  was first class, smashing a perfect set wave to pieces from the top to bottom of the bank, posting a near-perfect 9.65 point ride (out of a possible 10 points), sending the New South Wales team on the beach into raptures as he took the win – with a winning score of 17.65.

This strong score saw Margieson edge out Jamie Thomson (13.60), Harry Phillips (11.40) and Xavier Huxtable (10.55).

While Picklum’s surfing was of such a high standard in the under 18 girls final, she threw away an eight-point ride by the time the hooter rang.

A single world-class backhand turn scoring her 8.25 points (out of a possible 10 points), putting an exclamation mark on just how good the North Shelly junior is – finishing with 17.25 from a possible 20.

Rounding out the under 18 girls top four were  Holly Williams (12.95), Tru Starling (11.55) and Arabella Wilson (10.00).

NSW, containing Harry Phillips as well as Mollymook’s Sophia Sulton, won overall team honours while Molly Picklum and Hughie Vaughan won the Isabel Letham and Duke Kahanamoku Awards for best overall individual performances.