Had a blend 11'2" for a couple of years and using it in small surf has been fun. now the mrs is keen I got her a whoppa and we both have liked it in small stuff. tried both the hero and wp9'5" and seemed alike to me. so at 72kg and only going into small surf how much different would the smaller wp be to the others? (have windsurfed for a long time, have boards 65L to 107L so my balance is pretty good)

with your weight i would look at the 8'5 Pocket Rocket IMO, much better to surf

At your weight & experience the obvious choice would be a 9.0 converse. It is a massively better paddler than any of the smaller widepoints and also the hero and will handle anything from 1ft to .........
It will get you into waves earlier than the WPs also and feel way less corky in chop. If you want to sub 9ft then the 8.5 pro is waaaaaaay better than a pocket rocket for your weight.
IMO the converse and 8.5 pro are possibly the most under-rated boards in the range.

Heard there's a shortage of 9'5" WP's in Aus at the moment