There are few better things in Australian sport than an Origin decider, and since the inception of PBR Origin in 2019, just one deciding game has been contested.
In 2025, we get the second.
The third and deciding match of the 2025 PBR Australia Origin series between New South Wales and Queensland will be held inside the ICC Sydney Theatre at 7:00 p.m. AEST on Saturday, 5 July 2025.
Lachlan Richardson's Blues will be hungry to record a win on home soil and hoist the trophy for the first time in history, while Jared Borghero's Maroons will be aiming to maintain their undefeated status in PBR Origin and take out their seventh series win.
PBR Australia’s Can-Am Junior Academy will again lead us off during the main performance, with the Blues holding a 2-nil advantage over the Maroons in their exhibition Origin series.
Event Information and Tickets are available from the PBR Australia website.
Series Recap
Queensland trailed New South Wales by 87 points late in the second round of Game 1 in Newcastle but produced the final three qualified rides of the night to storm home and win the opening contest by two scores - 578.75 to 418.50 points.
Qualified rides were challenging to come by for both teams in the long rounds of Game 2 in Brisbane, but the cowboys caught fire in the Bonus Round, and the Blues emerged with a narrow 490 to 481.75 victory over the Maroons after the lead changed hands multiple times.
Read the Wrap-Ups from PBR Origin I and PBR Origin II.
Cowboy of Origin
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.
Queenslander Kurt Shephard enters the third match, leading the race for the award with two qualified rides equalling 170 points.
Matheus Lima Rodrigues is second on 169 points, with his Blues teammate Luan Crystian Camara and Maroons young gun Thomas Triplett just behind on 168 points.
2024 winner Ben Bode sits in fifth place on 163.50 points, followed by Jack Rowlandson, who is the final rider with two scores on 156.50.
View the Full Results from Origin II in Brisbane.
Format, Prizemoney and Points
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.
Team Changes
Team New South Wales has been forced to make multiple changes to its squad for Game 3, with No. 3-ranked Matheus Lima Rodrigues returning to Brazil and No. 11-ranked Jack Broderick out with an injury.
The Blues welcome back No. 22 ranked Sam Woodall, who has made an encouraging return from a groin injury in recent months, and No. 23 Joao Rigaard Franco, who finds himself back in a qualification spot after slipping out of the team following Origin I in Newcastle.
Team Queensland will go into the decider unchanged from the side that was narrowly defeated in Brisbane.
Check out the starting line-ups for New South Wales and Queensland on Instagram.
Talking Points
The battle between the National Championship heavyweights.
I am looking forward to seeing the two top-ranked riders on the PBR Australian National Standings Leaderboard trade blows this weekend. Both riders have been outstanding for their respective states so far this series and, between them, have won over half the events on tour this season.
Let's start with the No. 1 man, Queensland's Kurt Shephard, who is 3-from-6 across the 2025 Origin series and was the event winner at Origin II in Brisbane. He backed up that strong performance with a runner-up finish at the Burnett Heads Touring Pro. The Mareeba talent holds a 14-from-22 record in Origin competition and was an integral part of Queensland's win in the inaugural PBR Origin here inside the ICC Sydney Theatre in 2019.
I have been impressed by Shephard's consistency this season. He has made the whistle in 60% of his attempts, and importantly, he has been covering bulls that turn back in either direction. We haven’t seen this level of consistency from him since his 2021 season when he was in the running to claim the gold buckle, and that tells me he is switched on mentally and physically.
No. 2 ranked Luan Crystian Camara has been red hot since the beginning of the Origin Series. He led his adopted state in Origin I, covering two of his three bulls. He did miss out on a score at Origin II, but the Brazilian has been dominating the latest run of Touring Pro Events. He has recorded seven straight qualified rides to pick up two event wins and a runner-up finish at that level of competition.
Camara has covered some difficult bulls over the past month and increased his riding percentage to almost 55% in the process. He knows when he needs to show some grit and fight his way to the 8-second whistle, but he also seems to know when to let his flamboyance show through to gain an extra point or two.
The priority for both cowboys will be doing all they can to get the win for their state, but the chance to pick up a $30,000 Cowboy of Origin bonus will likely provide some extra motivation.
Who will provide the X-factor for New South Wales?
Sam Woodall is a massive inclusion for the Blues, but he has drawn some tough opponents for his return to the Origin arena. He looks to be fighting fit after his long layoff, full of confidence and keen to make up for lost time.
The Heywood talent is 7-from-15 in a Blues jersey and was the event winner at his last Origin start at Cairns in 2023, where he rode Ambush for 89 points in the Bonus Round to give New South Wales their first win in enemy territory. He also has a Grand Finals event title to his name, so we know the bright lights won't be an issue.
Who will provide the X-factor for Queensland?
I am going to nominate two riders for the Maroons.
Rylee Ward picked up his maiden PBR Australia victory last weekend at the Bull Pit with a 2-for-2 performance to move to the No. 5 spot in the National Standings. That result snapped a run of five buck-offs which included a matchup with Cattle King Roid Rage and four other rides where the clock progressed past the 5.9-second mark, so he hasn’t been far away. He has his tail up, his riding percentage is on the rise, and he has drawn quite well for Rounds 1 and 2.
In The Morning Line for Origin I at Newcastle, I mentioned that Zane Hall had started his 2025 campaign similarly to his 2024 season. He began last season with some inconsistent results before finding form and going 9-from-17 across the Origin months. History appears to be repeating itself - the Athol cowboy has posted three round-winning rides and collected cheques at three of his past four starts with a riding record of 4-from-7. He now sits just outside the top 10 in the standings, and it won't be long until he finds himself in single digits after drawing some suitable bulls in the long rounds.
Will the bullpen familiarity be the deciding factor?
The stock contracted for Origin II is very similar to the pen the riders faced in the Origin I event at Newcastle, and a lot of these bulls were also at the three-day Sydney Meatstock Touring Pro a week later. Across those two events, the Blues squad rode 29.63% of their bulls, and the Maroons rode 34.04%.
There are also plenty of rematch opportunities from previous tour stops littered throughout the draw for Origin III. So, history and familiarity may play a significant role in the outcome of this match and the series.
The draw looks a tad tricky, but we should still see a high-scoring game. I think we can expect the winning team will need 8 or 9 qualified rides to claim the PBR Origin series, and it will likely come down to a Bonus Round shootout for the third time this series.
Bring on the decider!
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 III.
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.
