Miller makes mark in new club colours
ON the first day of the open Aussies, in the first final, Georgia Miller claimed her first gold medal for Northcliffe.
After winning the event last year for Newport, the 22year-old backed up her female board relay success, this time in the burgundy and white cap, alongside emerging stars Hannah Sculley and Danielle McKenzie.
“That was my first Aussie gold for Northcliffe so it’s really special,” she said.
“I’ll get my cap number now which is so special and to do it with these two, we’ve all had a really big season so this one means a lot to us.”
The girls from Northcliffe had to fight hard for the win after challenging conditions, with waves peaking at 2m, pushed Sculley off her line during the first leg and saw her loose grip on first place.
“It was chaos. There were people going everywhere,” she said.
“I saw a lot of them going north so I stopped and let them pass and cut back which let me be the third person in.
“Tagging to these two, you know you’re in with a chance. That could have been anyone’s race.”
After Miller put the girls in a strong position heading into the final leg, it was up to McKenzie to finish with Alexandra Headlands closing fast.
“I had a bit of pressure going into that final leg with not much moving room,” McKenzie said.
“I noticed a few mistakes some of the girls had made so I made sure I didn’t make them and raced my race.
“I just put my head down and knew I had to get out back and then to catch a good wave in was pretty special.”
With a significant gap on their opposition, McKenzie took the chance to soak it all in as she jogged towards the finish line - she hugged teammates along the way - as Northcliffe took out the first medal of the open Aussies.
“For sure, I think you have to,” she said when asked if she wanted to soak up the atmosphere on her run to the finish.
“It’s so cool to be racing with these girls as well as our B team which came third on the podium as well.”