Just a short three months ago most of you would be saying Frederico who? and maybe some still are.
Frederico Morias is going to be a rookie on the biggest stage of surfing in 2017, the Dreamtour (if we are still allowed to call it that). He came into the Hawaiian leg of the WQS in 2016 with a snowballs chance in hell and pulled off qualification. A rags to riches move.
Fred is a long time stand out for me personally. What makes him a dangerous stand out are his skills in waves of consequence and he rips in mushy beach breaks. He also has the full support of a nation (Portugal) that has already been whipped up and primed by the former competitor on the CT Mr Tiago Pires. The Portuguese are behind Fred 100% and that counts for a lot.
My call for rookie of the year is this guy. Gauntlet thrown.
Frederico Morias and his back hand.