The Morning Line - 2022 K Ranch Invitational

 

We are now in the last two months of the 2022 PBR Australia season, and this will be the fourth last Monster Energy Tour event, so the opportunities for riders to pick up big points are running out.

It looks a tricky night on paper for most riders, but there are a few good ones in the draws for both rounds. Let's break down a few of the matchups:

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Round 1

This round looks crucial for the ten competing riders who sit outside the top-20 automatic Grand Finals qualification spots. I think several of those cowboys have an excellent chance to emerge with the maximum round points.

Of the eighteen bulls featured in the opening round, just three have more than two outs experience at this level. We will use this as another opportunity to take another good look at these bulls in action, given there are still a few Northern Tablelands events remaining on the schedule before we head to Townsville.

Round 2 Matchups

Taran Chirgwin on 418 Broken Halo (TnR Bucking Bulls)
The Calliope talent has drawn a good one for a left-handed rider here in the opening section of the round. Broken Halo has been ridden five times in his 20-out PBR career. Only four lefties have attempted him, and three of those riders came away with a score. The bull should enter an anti-clockwise spin with good tempo and speed. Chirgwin started up a couple of handy bulls at his local rodeo last weekend, and I know he is hungry to qualify for his second Grand Finals. He sits right on the bubble in the 21^st position, so I can see him taking this opportunity all the way to the whistle.

Kelsey Pavlou on 037 Kick Start My Heart (Diamond S Bucking Bulls)
Kick Start My Heart is in contention for the Rookie Bull of the Year award, and he has produced some outstanding trips so far in his career. Judges marked him 43 points at Scone and Newcastle, and then he was the high marked bull at Origin III in Tamworth with a 44-point trip. His best trips have been to the right, and that will put him into Pavlou's riding hand here. The Toora cowboy spent some time in the USA following the event in Cairns, and I don't think it will take long for him to settle back into the swing of things here at home. He starts the night from sixth in the National Standings.

Qynn Andersen on 736 Rolling Thunder (TnR Bucking Bulls/Baille)
Andersen has finished inside the top-5 at four of the last six events, but this matchup looks a tricky one for the Koumala young gun. Rolling Thunder is unridden in the PBR with five cowboys hitting the dirt so far, with the average time around the 3.5-second mark. He has delivered a few different trips so far, and I am not sure what we will get here tonight, but I think he tends to favour a clockwise spin. He turned back to the right at Newcastle earlier this season and looked that way a few weeks later in Tamworth. A repeat of that pattern should give the No. 3 ranked rider a good shot at completing another ride and will ensure he stays in the championship hunt.

Aaron Kleier on 411 Mr Buckmore (TnR Bucking Bulls)
This will be the third time that these two have gone head-to-head. The first meeting was way back in the bull's debut trip at Blackall in 2018, where the Clermont cowboy won the short-go with 87-points. The second came at the Sydney Show in 2019, where the bull bucked Kleier off in the final ticks of the clock. Over the past few months, the four-time National Champion has looked almost unbeatable in his drive for a fifth straight title. He has ridden 13 of his last 14 bulls and won the last six PBR Australia events. Mr Buckmore has built up an impressive record over the past few years. He has bucked off 14 of his last 15 opponents, with the lone 88-point score going to Nathan Burtenshaw in Melbourne in 2019. He leaves the chutes and then picks his direction, which won't worry Kleier. This should be another great battle.

Lachlan Richardson on 44 Everest (Maynes Bucking Bulls)
Everest has been out four times in PBR competition. He turned back to the right and bucked off his opponent on each occasion. Will Purcell gave us a good look at this bull at the Tamworth Origin event, taking him to six seconds. I don't think we are far off seeing someone snapping the bull's unbeaten streak, and I think that will be tonight. The Gresford bull rider has ridden just two of his last seven bulls, but all five of those buck-offs have come after the 4-second mark, so I don’t think he is far off putting a few qualified rides together. If he wants to remain in contention for the gold buckle, this is an opportunity that Richardson must convert. He sits 4th in the standings, but he is over four Monster Energy Tour 'clean sweeps' behind Kleier. It's go-time for the seven-time PBR World Finals qualifier.

Cody Heffernan on 551 Kit Carson (TnR Bucking Bulls)
Heffernan has been doing everything he can to maintain contact with a red-hot Kleier in the run to the finish line. He has finished in the top-5 at four of the last five events he has entered and picked up a couple of round wins during that run to hold down the No. 2 spot in the standings. Kit Carson has been a tough bull to get by in his career, allowing just one score from seventeen trips. This bull consistently turns back to the right, and we have seen righties do much better against him. Their average buck-off time exceeds the lefties' efforts by almost 2-seconds. Eduardo Aparecido was 83-points at Tamworth back in 2019, but there are plenty more points available if you can ride this bull, which is what the Singleton veteran needs tonight.

 

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