We usually see the cowboys get off to a hot start at the Grand Finals, and this year's opening night looks no different. The first two rounds feature two very even sets of bulls, and all thirty riders will have their chance to contend for the aggregate title.

In the last two trips to Townsville, the riders have recorded riding percentages well above the season average, and with the field assembled for this year’s edition, we can expect similar results.

Check out the Daysheet for Friday night at the Grand Finals.

Let's dive into a few of the best matchups for Friday night:

Round 1

Sam Woodall on 059 Stitch Up (CF7 Bucking Bulls)

This looks to be a promising opening round draw for Woodall and it could set him up for another strong overall finish. He was a bit rusty in Tamworth last weekend after some time away from the tour, but he wasn’t far off the pace. We haven’t seen many right-handed riders take on Stitch Up, which has seen his record grow to 7-1. He likes to turn back to the right just outside the gate. Luan Crystian Camara scored 84.25 points on him at Rockhampton in April, but we could see the Haywood bull rider lift the score into the high-80s here.

Caiden Sandilands on 722 Alcatraz (CF7 Bucking Bulls & Josh Pugh Partnership)

Sandilands has looked impressive in his limited tour starts at the back end of this season. He went 2-for-3 at Hawkesbury and then 1-for-3 against an unsuitable run of bulls at Mackay. Alcatraz has been ridden just four times on tour, but three of those rides have been by left-handed riders. He will initially turn left and can change direction late. The Rockhampton cowboy should get a good start riding into his hand and just needs to hang tough late. Macaulie Leather’s 87.50-point ride to win a round at Rockhampton earlier this season is a typical score seen on this bull.

Jake Gardner on 306 Rambo (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)

The Canadian arrives in Australia fresh from a 2-for-3, top 5 finish at the Saskatoon Classic on home soil last weekend. This looks to be an intriguing matchup with Rambo, who has put together a run of 12 straight buck-offs. However, it has been quite a while since we saw a top-ranked right-hander climb aboard. The streak dates back to Maryborough last season, when he teamed up with Cody Heffernan for 89 points. He may be rounding out his seventh season on tour, but he still delivers great trips and could give Gardner a great start to his weekend.

Macaulie Leather on 7921 Checkmate (Morgys Cattle Company)

Checkmate has given up two qualified rides in his first year on tour, and both scores were good enough for the corresponding round win. The latest of those went to Thomas Hudson at Nowra for 85.00 points. He prefers to turn back to the left, and Leather will start as a short-priced favourite in this matchup, riding into his hand. The Calliope talent arrives home to defend his Grand Final event title in excellent form. In the past fortnight, he won a Challenger Series event in Fort Worth and then went 2-for-3 at the PBR Teams Finals in Las Vegas.

Callum Miller on B02 Da Bear (Lazy G Bucking Bulls & Pukallus Partnership)

The Warwick cowboy is another rider returning home in excellent form. He has ridden six of his last seven bulls, going perfect 3-for-3 in the PBR Teams event at Glendale, 2-for-2 in his event win at Medicine Hat, and then went 1-for-2 at the PBR Teams Finals in Las Vegas. Da Bear is a great bull, and I am surprised he hasn’t been ridden more than he has. Of the six riders who have, three of those scores have won the round, with the latest going to Zane Hall, who scored 86.50 points at Sydney Meatstock. He will turn back to the right, into Miller’s hand.

Luan Crystian Camara on 831 Pandemic (Lazy G Bucking Bulls & Edgar Partnership)

Pandemic has been out 23 times in his career, and just four cowboys have made the whistle and received a score. Just one of those qualified rides has gone to a right-handed rider, with the average of all scores just below 86 points. It is difficult to predict which way he will turn back. He mostly prefers a spin to the left, but at last weekend at Tamworth, he did turn back to the right with Kurt Shephard aboard. Camara is much more comfortable riding into his right-hand, but he collected some good scores riding in the opposite direction earlier this season. The Brazilian can’t hold anything back here.

Kurt Shephard on 105 City Nights (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)

After a tough few months on tour, Shephard seems to be back in a groove, adding the win at Tamworth to his resume last weekend. A long run of bulls turning away from his hand could end here, with City Nights favouring a spin to the left, which will put him into the Mareeba cowboy’s hand. Two of the seven riders this bull has faced this season have reached the whistle - Thomas Triplett was marked 84.5 at Beaudesert, and Josh Grant scored 83 points at Bloomsbury. Any score is a good score in Shephard’s situation, and if he’s feeling any pressure, an 8-second ride here should ease most of it.

Round 2

Andrew Alvidrez on 922 Jackie Red (Dunne Bulls)

Jackie Red is a good draw for the Texan to kick off the second round. This bull is ridden nearly 50% of the time with scores averaging over 85 points. Four of the eight qualified rides have scored enough to win the round. Alison Aguilar was 82.5 points on him at Mackay earlier this month. In 2024, this bull seemed to prefer faking to the right and turning back to the left, but this season, he's regularly turning to the right and then reversing late. The right-handed Alvidrez makes his first trip down under after going 3-for-5 at the Las Vegas PBR Teams Finals. No matter what pattern this bull chooses, I think he will be in great shape as the whistle sounds.

Kelsey Pavlou on 55 Concrete Jungle (Kleier Bucking Bulls)

Pavlou comes to Townsville in pretty good form. He performed well at Mackay and then took the event win at Kilkivan with a 2-for-3 performance, and last week in Tamworth, he took his two long round bulls past the 7-second mark. He gets a bull that will turn back into his hand here. Concrete Jungle has been ridden twice from seven trips in PBR competition, with mid-80 point scores going the way of right-handed riders Boston Leather and Rylee Ward. After drawing a tough bull in the opening round, a score in that region may be just what the Toora cowboy needs to secure himself a decent pick in the Round 3 draft for Saturday.

Brady Fielder on 172 Roam Aviation Without Warning (Dunne Bulls)

Fielder returns home aiming to win his third PBR Australia Grand Finals title. He is also closing in on 100 qualified rides for the year after going 2-for-3 at Glendale and a 3-for-4 in Las Vegas to round out the PBR Teams season. He appears to have drawn very well in this round. Without Warning has been ridden four times in his career with scores averaging over 85 points. He combined with Clint Glass and Kurt Shephard for round-winning scores at Mackay earlier this month, turning back to the right on both occasions. A repeat will put him into the Clermont bull rider’s hand, and scores in the high 80-point range could be on the cards if everything clicks. 

Luan Crystian Camara on 359 Nine Ball (TF Bucking Bulls)

The Brazilian looks to have drawn a nice bull here for his second-round matchup. Nine Ball has been covered four times in his nine outs, and he is quite predictable in his action. He likes to take a few jumps towards the centre of the arena and can turn back in either direction. The last score recorded went to Boston Leather at Mackay in 2024 for 86.5 points and the round win, but the bull has not faced a top-ranked rider this season. Camara has a great chance to ride time, no matter which direction the bull chooses.

Zane Hall on 121 Double Shot (TF Bucking Bulls)

There are quite a few rematches in the draw for tonight’s rounds, but not many of the original matchups went the way of the cowboy. This is one that did. They combined for 85 points at Mackay just a few weeks back. On that occasion, Double Shot initially turned back to the left into Hall’s hand, but then he reversed the spin immediately to the right. This bull was recently changed to the right delivery, and I think he will continue to favour a spin to the right, but his tempo is quite good, and I think that will give most of the top riders a shot at making the bell. I believe the left-handed Athol talent can repeat here.

Kurt Shephard on 009 On Edge (TF Bucking Bulls & Jaxon Burrell Partnership)

On Edge has been ridden three times in his short career, with two left-handed riders featured in the scorers' column. Zane Hall scored 85 points at the Tasman Cup, and Toby Collins tallied 83.75 points a week later in Cairns. He is expected to turn back to the right. This is one of those tricky matchups that looks like a gimme on paper but can trip up a good rider, though I am confident that Shepherd can get the job done riding away from his hand.

Nash Mellers on 910 On Bail (Swain Cattle Company)

The past few months on tour have been a real test for the Gracemere young gun. He's struggled to find any momentum, but he now has a great chance to regain some confidence in a rematch with On Bail. They faced off at the Sydney Meatstock event and scored 86 points. This bull has been ridden seven times out of eleven trips in PBR competition over the past year for scores averaging in the mid-80 point range. He tends to turn back to the right consistently, which favours Meller and gives him a solid shot at grabbing some prize money in the final out of the night. 

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