Team pride, sustained form and a whole bunch of medals are all on the line this weekend at Warilla Barrack Point, with the final round of the Sharkskin NSW IRB Premiership promising thrilling action and some impressive racing.
While hazardous surf and a focus on competitor safety caused a false start at Avoca Beach last time out – an abridged program allowed for just a handful of finals to be contested on the Central Coast – a smooth carnival, both on the water and off it, is anticipated this weekend.
For some, it’s one last platform to test race strategies in a competitive environment before making the trip to Cape Hawke for the State Championships in a fortnight’s time. For others, podium places and even the Premiership title is still on the line.
Caves Beach SLSC and Kiama Downs SLSC continue to duke it out at the top of the overall point score, where just 12 points separates the clubs ahead of the Premiership’s South Coast leg.
The 12-point handicap may be a fair one, given what presents as a home game for the Kiama Downs crews. They train and perform a lifesaving service just a handful of beaches south of Warilla and will understand the conditions well.
Not to be counted out just yet, either, are the teams from Thirroul SLSC and North Cronulla SLSC. Both will fancy their chances of rounding out the dais as an overall point score medallist come Sunday afternoon, but it would only take a handful of upset results to cause some discomfort between the lead pair from the Hunter and South Coast as well.
On Thirroul, deeper analysis of the bigger picture overall success it’s chasing helps to shine a light on the club’s U23 Male Rescue team – one of the crews to race a final at Avoca Beach in Round 3. Victory in the category in Warilla for the KNOT SHORE team would make them the only ones to clean sweep their division with wins on all four race weekends.
Other divisions to keep an eye on include the Open Female Teams, where five crews are within a handful of points of each other at the top, and the Over 35 Male Rescue where Queenscliff SLSC’s Old Mate crew lead the chasing pack of North Cronulla’s Has Beens and Kiama Downs Red by two points despite not winning a final in the category.
While they aren’t contributing to the point score, both Rookie divisions are also up for grabs. Ocean Beach SLSC’s Dumb n Dumber leads all comers in the Rescue category, while Kiama Downs Red is out ahead of Bungan Beach SLSC’s Big Melonz and Maroubra SLSC’s Slingshot in the Mass.
OVERALL POINT SCORE AFTER ROUND 3
Caves Beach – 303
Kiama Downs – 291
Thirroul – 223
North Cronulla – 216
Bondi – 168
South Maroubra – 154
Newport – 151
Queenscliff – 142
Nobbys – 111
North Avoca – 73
Forster – 43
Maroubra – 41
Bungan Beach – 6
Ocean Beach – 6
Fingal Beach – YET TO SCORE
Wednesday 11 June 2025