Jordy Smith is the legit defending J-Bay champ, and can still grip a hat trick. But it’s not going to be gifted. There's plenty of threats ready to usurp the king when the first siren hits on (hopefully) Thursday. Jordy knows this, and is ready on all fronts. The words below were extracted from Mr Smith in the cold wind after he'd broken a board at Supers. These are the gents he currently has on his radar...

Interview by Craig Jarvis

Stab: J-Bay is back! And you won the last two! Who's your biggest threat there this year?

Jordy: I guess that would be me. You can easily enough have an inconsistent heat out at J-Bay where you sit and wait for too long. I’ve done that before. In every heat you’re battling yourself, mostly.

Of everyone on the starting blocks, who's the most consistent at J-Bay? That would most definitely be Kelly Slater. He’s actually had the most experience out at J-Bay, and as a result he generally tends to make the least mistakes. While Supers is a ridiculously perfect wave, it's also a wave where it’s easy to make mistakes, especially if you don’t have that hard-earned experience in all of her moods.

Every year someone surprising blows minds at J-Bay. Who's it gonna be this year? This year my money's on Dion Atkinson. He has a massive forehand hack on him, and he doesn’t have a history at J-Bay, so he could easily be a dark horse. He’s worked hard as well to get where he is. If he gets the right waves he could upset some big names.

The battle is always between natural footers out there (the last 15 event-winners). Who's the best goofyfooter out there right now? I’d say Owen Wright, for sure. I think his height will be a big advantage, similar to me. Being tall helps you spring between the fast sections of the wave, and not miss sections.

Out of interest, who's your favourite surfer of all time at J-Bay? Tom Curren, for sure. His style suits J-Bay perfectly, and he really surfs to the beat of the wave.

We don’t (openly) advocate opportunistic gambling but if you were forced to bet on a surfer at J-Bay this year, who would you throw money on? Me! Otherwise I’d have some cash on Michel? He’s also got a big hack, and is full of so much confidence this year. Everyone’s watching The Spartan this year, aren’t they?

Dylan Lightfoot is the SA wildcard, coming through from the JBU Supertrial presented by RVCA. Any advice for the J-Bay kid? It’s awesome to see a young local ripper like Dylan in the event. I’ve noticed how much he has improved over the past few years. He’s a fast and exciting surfer, and knows Supers well. Quite simply, he will just have to be on the best waves in his heat to have a chance against the top seeds.

Check out the first round draw here.