The Morning Line – 2022 Rockhampton Invitational – Event 7

 

In our two Monster Energy Tour stops at the Great Western Hotel this season, the bulls have dominated and allowed a qualified ride percentage of 10.32%. I don’t think the bull power is quite at that level tonight, so the cowboys should get a good chance to fight back and put some scores on the board.

Here is the daysheet for Event 7 of the 2022 PBR Australia season.

Let’s dive in and break down a few of the most competitive matchups:

Round 1

Jackson Gray on 17 Panic Stations (Diamond J Rodeo Co.)
We will get things underway with an exciting matchup that could go either way. Gray rode confidently in his return from a long injury layoff at Toowoomba, going 1-for-3 across the weekend, and I think he will continue to throw everything into his matchups. We haven't seen Panic Stations on the Monster Energy Tour since 2019, but I suspect he will continue to turn back to the right and buck at a nice tempo. Bailey Woodard is the only left-handed rider to attempt this bull and has come down before the bell on all three occasions. If Gray can start the ride well, I think he can remain in control of the matchup for a long time.

Ben Moran on 314 Gangster’s Retreat (CF7 Bucking Bulls)
Gangster’s Retreat has been ridden twice from his three trips in PBR Australia competition, with scores averaging 80-points recorded by Lawson Nobbs and Lachlan Richardson. Moran posted his first PBR score last weekend in Toowoomba, and he wasn’t far off adding a second score. The Yeppoon rookie should be able to build on that performance, and he won't be far off reaching the whistle here. The bull prefers to turn back to the left, although his trips when in the spin can differ significantly.

Caiden Sandilands on 69 Bang and Grind (Kleier Bucking Bulls)
It has been a slow start to the season for Sandilands, but I don’t think it will be long until he starts to take advantage of these good draws. Bang and Grind has turned back to the left in all but one of his fourteen PBR Australia trips. That reliability has allowed left-handed riders to cover this bull 50% of the time, with the three-score average almost touching 84-points. With the bull expected to turn back into his hand, the Rockhampton cowboy will be aiming to start strong and finish on top.

Round 2

Qynn Andersen on 830 Deadly Venom (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)
Andersen gets a great chance to post a solid score into his hand here during the closing trips of the event. The Koumala young gun has been on fire across the last two tour stops, covering five of his seven bulls to pick up an event win at Origin I in Newcastle and a third-place finish in Toowoomba. Deadly Venom made his PBR debut at the event here in February, where Taran Chirgwin took him to 6.27 seconds. He turned back to the right on that occasion, and his tempo was pretty good.

Kelsey Pavlou on 477 Vertical Limits (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)
In February, these two met up here at Rockhampton during the Championship Round after Pavlou picked Vertical Limits with the second pick in the draft. He didn't start well on that occasion, and the bull threw him forward early as he faked to the left and finished the job when he turned back to the right. The last time we saw this bull ridden was last season when Aaron Kleier was 86.5 points. The Toora cowboy has covered a bull at each of the previous four PBR Australia events, and he will be hungry to level the scores with this bull.

Aaron Kleier on 306 Rambo (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)
Another rematch, but this one goes way back to the Julia Creek in 2019, where the bull got the better of Kleier in his debut trip. Since then, Rambo has combined with four riders for scores averaging 81.67 points. All four scores belong to right-handed riders, with lefties a combined 0-for-5. This bull is likely to turn back to the right and away from the Clermont cowboy’s hand from the right side delivery. Can Kleier become the first mollyduker to post a score? If he can, it will most certainly produce a grandstand finish.

Don't miss Josh Hanson's insider commentary on the Ride The Rage website and follow along on Facebook (Ride the Rage), Twitter (@RideTheRagePBR) and Instagram (@RideTheRagePBR).

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