06.06.25 - Feature
PBR Origin: Maroons look to wrap up sixth straight title on home dirt
Can New South Wales overcome Queensland’s dominance in Brisbane to even the series?
By Josh Hanson
The 2025 PBR Australia Origin series moves to Queensland this weekend with the Maroons looking to wrap up a sixth straight title on home dirt after scoring a come-from-behind win over New South Wales in Game 1 at Newcastle last month.
Game 2 of the three-game series will kick off inside the Brisbane Entertainment Centre at 7:00 p.m. AEST on Saturday, 7 June 2025.
PBR Australia’s Can-Am Junior Academy will lead things off during the main performance. Riders from each state will go head-to-head across the Pee Wee, Junior, Senior and Rising Stars divisions, with Team New South Wales leading Queensland 1-nil in their exhibition series.
Fans holding VIP on the Dirt tickets will have access to the arena from 5:00 p.m. for their exclusive meet-and-greet opportunity with riders, contractors, and an all-star bucking bull.
Tickets are available from the PBR Australia website.
The Blues led the Maroons by 87 points late in the second round of competition, but Queensland riders produced the final three qualified rides of the night to storm home and win the opening contest by 578.75 to 418.50 points.
Thomas Triplett and Kurt Shephard were the top performers for the Maroons, combining for four of their team’s seven qualified rides.
For the Blues, it was Luan Crystian Camara who led the way with two scores, while Matheus Lima Rodrigues recorded the highest score of the night.
Read the Wrap-Up from PBR Origin I.
The rider with the highest aggregate score across the six long rounds in this year’s Origin Series will be crowned the 2025 Cowboy of Origin and take home a $30,000 bonus.
Thomas Triplett and Luan Crystian Camara are currently tied at the top of the rankings on 168.00 points after they each covered both of their bulls in Game 1.
Matheus Lima Rodrigues sits in third place with 87.25 points, with Kurt Shephard on 84.00 points and Clint Glass on 83.25 points, rounding out the top 5.
View the Full Results from Origin I in Newcastle.
Each Origin event will feature three rounds of competition. The 10 riders for each team will attempt one bull each in Round 1 and Round 2, with the top 4 riders from each team on the aggregate leaderboard advancing to the Bonus Round for one final out.
The state with the highest combined score across the three rounds of competition will be crowned the event winner.
There is $50,000 in prize money up for grabs at each of the three PBR Origin events, as well as points towards the 2025 PBR Australian National Standings. Event points will be up for grabs in the long rounds only, and the individual event winner will be the cowboy with the highest aggregate score following the second round of competition.
Watch all the action on PBR Australia’s YouTube Channel and Live Stream page from 7:00 p.m. AEST on Saturday.
Both teams go into the match with minimal line-up changes.
After being drafted by the Texas Rattlers in the first round of the 2025 PBR Teams Draft, Queensland’s Macaulie Leather (Calliope, QLD) has remained in the USA to begin preparations for the upcoming season. He has been replaced in the Maroons line-up by PBR veteran Beau Willis (Bowen, QLD). Brumby Brandenburg (Bloomsbury, QLD) and Dan Ruhland (Mount Walker, QLD) move into the reserve spots.
Alison Aguilar (Acre, Brazil) will make his Origin debut for the Blues after leaping into a qualification spot off the back of a strong finish at the Sydney Meatstock Touring Pro last month. He relegates Joao Rigaard Franco (Sao Paulo, Brazil) back to the bench alongside Sam Woodall (Heywood, VIC).
Check out the starting line-ups for Queensland and New South Wales.
Leather is a 40% bull rider in Origin competition, and at this level, he posts an average ride score of over 84 points. With news that he will miss the remainder of the Origin series, the question is – who will step up and fill the void for Queensland?
For me, Rylee Ward is that man. He missed out in Newcastle but then bounced back strong with a 3-for-3 runner-up performance in Sydney at the Meatstock Touring Pro. Ward finished the 2024 Origin events with a 44.44% conversion rate at an average ride score of 84.55 points - so he appears to fit the mould.
I know Queensland coach Jared Borghero has a lot of confidence in the Kiwi Champion's ability to take the next step in his career. Still, it takes more than one rider to win an Origin, and it will take a whole team effort from the Maroons if they are to hold off a Blues team that is growing in confidence.
Will the Brazilian Cowboys be able to maintain their run of good form for the Blues?
Nobody has been hotter on tour over the past month than the Brazilians. Off the back of a combined 3-from-4 night across the long rounds at Origin I, Luan Crystian Camara and Matheus Lima Rodrigues again finished in the money at the Sydney Meatstock event, covering five of their six bulls across the weekend.
For Camara, it made it back-to-back event wins, while Rodrigues recorded his third straight top 5 finish. Alison Aguilar also rode well in Sydney, snapping a long buck-off streak with a 2-from-3 third-place finish in Sydney to force his way into the New South Wales side.
New South Wales coach Lachlan Richardson will be hopeful that this momentum carries through to Brisbane and spreads amongst his team. The Blues will need all hands on deck to have a chance of completing a road upset and to keep the series alive.
It won’t be easy. The Maroons have dominated PBR Origin events in Brisbane, winning all four contests with the combined ride count sitting at 32 to 21.
One of the Blues’ best losing performances in a PBR Origin came inside the Entertainment Centre in 2023. The teams finished the three rounds locked together on nine rides a piece, but Queensland took the win with a higher average ride score.
The starting sides are statistically similar when it comes to average ride scores in Origin heading into Game 2, so it will come down to who can ride the ranker bulls.
The daysheet is loaded with elite buckers. Eight of the top eleven bulls with the highest season averages in 2025 await the two teams.
Leading the Bucking Bull of the Year race in 2025 are the MJ and Keliher Bucking Bulls pairing of Alpha Blokes Warden and Mooseys Moto Moto. The Warden has averaged 43.71 points per trip, with Moto Moto just behind on 43.25 points.
2022 Bucking Bull of the Year Cattle King Roid Rage from Dittmann Bucking Bulls sits third on an average of 43.05 points, with his penmates Quitting Time, Rambo, and two-time champion Cattle King Boogers Beach all ranked inside the top 10.
Also averaging markings above 42.50 points for the season are the rarely ridden Dunne Bulls’ duo of Twist & Shout and Arit’s Lost Soul.
There are very few riders in this field who have proven themselves against bulls of this calibre, but this is the perfect stage for riders to announce themselves as contenders for the PBR Australia National Championship. Any qualified ride in any round of competition at PBR Origin II could prove the difference between a win or a loss for their state.
Make sure you check out ‘The Morning Line’ on the PBR Australia website on Saturday for in-depth analysis of the highlight matchups for PBR Origin II.
For the latest results, news and stats, stay tuned to PBRAustralia.com.au, follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Australia), Instagram (@PBRAustralia) and TikTok (@PBRAustralia) and subscribe to @ProBullRidersAust on YouTube for live events, replays and highlights.