Merewether's Ryan Callinan has put himself within striking distance of returning to the top 10 with two rounds remaining on the 2019 World Surf League championship tour.
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Portugal and Hawaii are this season's last stops with Callinan now up one position to equal 11th on the world rankings after his quarter-final loss to eventual French Pro winner Jeremy Flores over the weekend.
The 27-year-old goofy footer picked up 4745 points for his fifth-placed finish, giving him 27,535 overall.
This puts Callinan alongside Hawaii's Seth Moniz, 500 points ahead of 11-time world champion Kelly Slater (27,035) and 1990 behind fellow Australian surfer Julian Wilson (29,525).
Flores (31,450) jumped five places to ninth, Australia's Owen Wright (34,780) is seventh and title holder Gabriel Medina (48,015) holds a 2285-point advantage on top of the leaderboard.
Callinan, who was ranked No.7 earlier this year, narrowly lost his quarters heat to Flores by 14.4 to 13.17.
The Portugal Pro competition window opens Wednesday.
Callinan has drawn Slater and France's Joan Duru.
