ADELAIDE BOUND KIWIS WITH GREEN AND GOLD FLAVOUR

NEW ZEALAND Surf Team, August 31, 2012: Ian Hanson looks over the World Championship New Zealand Surf Team that has a distinct ‘green and gold’ flavour…..

If New Zealand can topple hosts Australia in this year’s Rescue 2012 National Teams Challenge at the World Life Saving Championships in Adelaide in November it could well be a case of if you can’t beat ‘em then let’s “high-jack ‘em.”
 
The New Zealand team announced yesterday includes former Australian High Performance team member Australian Under 20s team member and one of Manly’s stars at this year’s Aussies, inDevon Halligan.

kevin-morrison-northcliffe-b-taplin.jpg

PICTURE:: New Zealand ski paddler Kevin Morrison (far left) a member of the silver medal winning Northcliffe Taplin Relay Team at the Aussies

Halligan is the 1.9m tall daughter of former Kiwi Rugby League star Daryl Halligan who showed why she will be the next big thing in surf sports in more ways than one.
 
She won the Australian Under 19 Ironwoman and finished second to Rebecca Creedy in the Open Ironwoman and was an intricate part of the gold medal winning Manly Taplin relay alongside Olympian Naomi Flood and established Ironwoman Candice Falzon before being recruited over the Tasman.
 
A member of the Midway Surf Life Saving Club in Gisborne on New Zealand’s North Island, Halligan will provide just the boost the Kiwis need in the open women’s beach area alongside a talented group which includes three members of the NZ Olympic Swim team and one member of the Olympic kayak team – former swimmer Steven Ferguson who was seventh in the London K2 1000 final with Daryl Fitzgerald.
 
Swimmers Natasha Hind, Andy McMillan and Steven Kent all swam in the Kiwi relays in London and were all coached by Australian Swim Coaches – McMillan at Southport Olympic by Glenn Baker and Hind and Kent by NZ Head Coach, former Australian Olympic coach Mark Regan.
 
Throw in the Gold Coast connection of Northcliffe’s Ironman and swimmer Max Beattie, Kurrawa beach flags and beach sprint star Paul Cracroft-Wilson, fellow beach flags champion Chanel Hickman and Northcliffe’s ski paddler Kevin Morrison – a silver medallist in this year’s Taplin Relay and the Australian connection just keeps on keeping on.
 
And that’s before we get to NZ Head Coach, former Manly surf swimmer Scott Bartlett, who was in Adelaide earlier this month on a spying mission at the Australian Pool Rescue Championships.

manly-taplin-relay-winners1.jpg
devon-wins-under-19-ironwoman.jpg

 PICTURE:: Manly’s gold medal winning Taplin Relay team (L-R) Candice Falzon, Naomi Flood, Devon Halligan

PICTURE:: Devon Halligan wins the Australian Under 19 Ironwoman

Bartlett, a former Australian Swim Squad member, won the Australian under 18 surf teams gold in 1991 before teaming up with Manly’s Olympians Scott Miller and Deane Pieters and David Kissane to win the Australian Open Surf Teams crown in 1993.
 
The Kiwis have not won the World title since 1998 but Bartlett is confident this will be their year.
“The combination of experience, new talent and having four Olympians, is going to give us the edge this time,” Bartlett said.

Rest assured Shannon Eckstein, Hugh Dougherty, Kristyl Smith, Rebecca Creedy and co might just have something to say about that.

The New Zealand Teams are:

New Zealand team: Max Beattie (Omanu), Nikki Cox ( Westshore), Paul Cracroft-Wilson (Fitzroy), Steven Ferguson (Piha), Devon Halligan (Midway), Chanel Hickman (Mairangi Bay), Natasha Hind (Lyall Bay), Steven Kent (Titahi Bay), Samantha Lee (Lyall Bay), Andy McMillan (St Clair), Kevin Morrison (Mairangi Bay), Laura Quilter (Wainui).

New Zealand under-20 team: Chris Dawson (Midway), Carina Doyle (St Clair), Kodi Harman (Papamoa), Emily Hodges (Piha), Ben Johnston (Papamoa), Danielle McKenzie (Mairangi Bay), Dannielle O'Connor (Omanu), Natalie Peat (Papamoa), Ben Quilter (Wainui), Karina Radley (Mount Maunganui), Sam Shergold (Mt Maunganui), Cory Taylor (Midway).