After slipping to third place in her first round heat, Poole came out fighting in her re-qualifying round to bag an 8.5 total and a ticket to the quarter finals where she faced off against fellow Hunter surfers Jasmine Sampson (Anna Bay) and Elle Clayton-Brown (Port Stephens).

Poole notched herself the top spot in the group of four by just 0.03 points, pipping Nica Frayne 11.9 to 11.87, with Lambton’s star moving into the semi-finals alongside Frayne. Both Sampson (5.97) and Clayton-Brown (9.5) were eliminated.

In the semi-final group Poole found herself surfing against defending champion Molly Picklum, who had just posted a massive 16.17 in the quarter-final, and made her way into the grand final group with a 9.24 score – 3.02 less than Picklum.

Once in the title fight, Poole surfed her way to the bronze finish with a 9.13 point score, beating out North Narrabeen’s Tru Starling (7.5) for a top-three result. Picklum scored 12.8 to defend her title, while Bodhi Leigh-Jones took second with 11.2.

The Hunter also had a champion crowned at Coffs Harbour, as Mike Clayton-Brown surfed to a gold finish in the Under 16 Boys category.

Clayton-Brown used a handful of punchy right-handers to down last year’s title winner, Lennox Chell from Avoca, and posted a 13.6 total point score in the final group. In the end, the margin of victory was just 0.53 over Chell’s 13.07.

Jordan Liackman, from Caves Beach, was also in the final group contesting the Under 16 Boys title. He posted 9.5 to take third place, beating out Jarvis Earle’s 9.07.