After his tumultuous 2015 season – marked by the now-infamous tussle with a great white,

“It was nice to have 2016 off somewhat and decompress, but I'm excited to put the singlet on again,” Fanning told the WSL . “I’ve decided to come back to competition full time and do the Tour this season.”The eclectic 2017 roster appears to have influenced Fanning’s decision to assert himself as a contender for this season’s world title. From a fresh contingent of European rookies, to the fiery Brazilian Storm, to the newly minted 2016 champion JJF, to a dedicated push from King Kelly – the field is stacked. And after competing in five of the 11 events last year, Mick was ranked 17th; he had secured a spot for 2017, should he want it.“Even with the 2017 season looming, I wasn’t sure I was motivated enough to take part,” Fanning said. “However, like everyone else I’m getting super excited about this year’s line-up of surfers - it might be the best field from the top seed to number 34 we’ve ever had. I also think it’s the biggest group of legit title contenders we’ve ever seen on the tour ever and I want to be part of the race.”The announcement of Mick’s return comes just over a week away from the start of the 2017 season at the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast (March 14 – 25), an event he’s won twice before. Safe to say White Lightning is ready to strike again.++++++More stories by Dashel Pierson:Want breaking surf news, fresh videos, fullscreen photo galleries and more delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for the Surfline weekly newsletter and 'like' our Facebook page