WORLD title hopeful Julian Wilson (pictured) said the absence of Mick Fanning and the injured Owen Wright had put pressure on surfers defend Australia's reputation as one of the sport's top nations. 
Fanning is in Berlin for the Laureus sports awards where he is up for two gongs, while Wright is still suffering serious effects from a head injury sustained in a wipe-out last   December. Also missing from the Australian armada is an injured Bede Durbidge while Taj Burrow is set to retire from competitive surfing at Cloudbreak in Fiji.
Wilson, who made his first final of the year at the Drug Aware Margaret River Pro on Saturday, said there was a weight of expectation on remaining surfers including him, Matt Wilkinson and Joel Parkinson.
"With guys like Mick and Owen gone for the moment there is pressure on us others to perform," Wilson said.
The Sunshine Coast surfer impressed in his first world championship tour final against Hawaiian injury replacement Sebastian Zietz on the weekend.
"I'm happy to get a good result here and Bells was a better result than last year," Wilson said. "I look forward to the rest of the year and to carry that momentum and fire into Brazil."The next event on the men's and women's world tour is in Rio from   May 10.