Mercer tip for strong return to Nutri-Grain

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Mercer won two titles at the world paddleboard championships in Denmark in September just days after the death of her famous uncle in a tribute that she is certain to want to extend into the Nutri-Grain series.

“Regardless of what’s happened in the last month, coming back this year was always going to be a big motivation and she wants to do well,” Darren said.

“She missed a lot of competition, she pretty much did one race last season and was out for the remainder of the year. But also with Dean, she loved Dean as he did her, he was so proud of her.

“Jordan’s going to be back ready to go. She probably won’t be hitting her straps until Christmas time but I think she knows that she’s got to get back in there and do the hard yards and get some work done.

“Her injuries are all on the mend now, she’s on the back end of that and January will be 12 months since she had the surgery on her foot for the stress fracture.”

Mercer won’t have everything her own way, with Harriet Brown out to defend the title she won in February, Hancock bidding to continue her recent revival and a generation of young stars coming through.

“I’m looking forward to getting out in the surf. It’s what I love,” Hancock said.

“As I did last year (after winning the Gold), I’ve got to listen to my body, I’ve got to recover properly.”

A stand-alone elite event in the past, the Nutri-Grain series has dwindled over the past few years and ran only as a threeday carnival last summer.

While it will run as part of the Ocean6 series – a joint initiative between Surf Life Saving Australia and Summer of Surf – being enveloped has allowed the Nutri-Grain series to return to a six-round competition at six different locations on the east coast this summer in a boost for the sport.