Taranaki surfer Paige Hareb has placed fifth at the Association of Surfing Professionals World Tour event at Bells Beach in Victoria.
Hareb was eliminated by two-time defending world champion Stephanie Gilmore, the Australian prevailing at home in an extremely close quarter-final match-up. Gilmore then lost the final to Brazil's Silvana Lima.
Overnight, the Mahia surfer Richard Christie finished third at the Protest Vendee Pro in France. The result in the ASP Men's World Qualifying Series four-star event is the best by a New Zealander in four years.
