PBR Monster Energy Tour Melbourne Invitational at Meatstock Post Event Game Notes
By: Sean Walsh Friday, March 24, 2023 @ 10:30 AM
Section 1 and 2:
The Bovine athletes dominated early on in Melbourne, with the bulls dominating the first two sections and all 10 outs ending before the whistle. Nifty (John Gill & Sons) made his first PBR debut and disposed of Dan Ruhland in 3.73 seconds, as well as Bucks Boy (John Gill & Sons) who got the better of Brumby Brandenburg with a 6.04 buckoff time.
Section 3:
Tresco, Victoria Cowboy Riley Eade picked up his first ever qualified ride in the PBR, with a nice trip to the promised land on All the Talk (Morgan Cattle Co) for 79.5 points.
Lane Mellers was also able to find the whistle during Round 1 against Extra Fly (Morgan Cattle Co) for 80 points, giving the bovine a tough induction to PBR on his first out on the Monster Energy Tour.
Also earning a qualified ride in Round 1 was Darcy McBean, whose 82-point ride on Wolf Pup (Woodall Rodeo Co) was a season best for the veteran rider and his highest score since 2016 and his best in the PBR Australia series.
Section 4:
Woodall Rodeo Co’s Triple 2 picked up the highest bovine score of the round, with a 42-point bull score when it got the better of Jake Curr in 5.55 seconds.
2022 PBR Australia Champion Cody Heffernan was able to get the motor running on his successful weekend earning the Round 1 victory on the last out of Saturday’s action with and 84.5-point journey on Cookies Kaos (Woodall Rodeo Co).
Sunday March 19- Round 2 (Long Go)
Section 1:
For the second consecutive day the bovines were the ones dominating early on during Round 2, with all five rides in Section 1 finishing in misery for the cowboys.
Triple 2 (Woodall Rodeo Co) picked up right where it left off on Saturday, picking up another impressive buckoff with Tyson Smith being dumped into the dirt in 5.75 seconds.
Section 2:
Moura, QLD rider Bryn Francis picked up his first qualified ride of the 2023 PBR Australia season, breaking a 10 out buckoff streak, when he rode Red Bandit (John Gill & Sons) to the whistle for 82.5 points and booking himself a spot in his first ever PBR Championship Round.
Four-time Australian Champion Aaron Kleier extended his event ride streak to three (Marrabel, Coonamble & Melbourne) with an 84-point ride on Extra Fly (Morgan Cattle Co).
Cody Heffernan was able to cover a second bull during the weekend when the Singleton, NSW cowboy was able to cover Big or Bust (Morgan Cattle Co), being the only rider two go 2-for-2 as heheaded into the championship round.
Section 3:
Quake (John Gill & Sons) was able to extend his clean sheet to four outs, when he bucked off Ben Moran in 2.89 seconds for an impressive 42.5ponts.
Macualie Leather 80.5-point ride aboard WarPaint (John Gill & Sons) booked the Queenslander a trip to the Championship Round and chalked up his fourth event with a qualified ride in 2023 (Marrabel, Cooyar, Coonamble & Melbourne).
Section 4:
Victorian native Sam Woodall was able to gain the Round 2 win with an 85-point out on All The Talk (Morgan Cattle Co), making it the highest rider score heading into the Championship Round.
Sunday March 19- Round 3 (Short Go Championship Round)
Four out of the eight Cowboys featured in the Championship Round were able to gain qualified rides, which is the best so far in 2023.
Lane Mellers covered multiple bulls at an event for the first time in 2023, when he covered Stitches (Woodall Rodeo Co) for 82 points, earning his best score to date this season.
Macaulie Leather was able to make the 8 on SW (John Gill & Sons), making it the first time in his PBR career he’s had a qualified ride in a Championship Round.
Aaron Kleier’s second successful out of the weekend came when he was matched up with Cookies Kaos (Woodall Rodeo Co) which earnt him a second place finish. Kleier finished the weekend with an aggregate of 169.5 and earned 45.5 points moving him to third in the National Standings.
Cody Heffernan became the first cowboy to go 3-for-3 in 2023, with a mammoth 87.5-point ride on Man Glitter (Morgan Cattle Co), giving him the highest ride score of the weekend, finishing with an aggregate of 256points for the weekend and collecting 74.5 national points.