PBR Origin Returns: NSW and QLD Ready to Battle in Series Opener this Weekend

 

The 2025 PBR Australia Monster Energy Origin season has arrived, and for the third time, the ‘Steel City’ of Newcastle will host the opening match of the best-of-three series.

 

Team New South Wales and Team Queensland will face off inside the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, with action kicking off at 7:00 p.m. AEST on Saturday, 3 May 2025.

For those fans with VIP on the Dirt tickets, access to the arena for an exclusive meet-and-greet opportunity with riders, contractors, and an all-star bucking bull will begin at 5:00 p.m. AEST.

The Can-Am Junior Academy will also hold an exhibition Origin during the main performance, with four riders from each state going head-to-head across the four divisions.

Tickets are available from the PBR Australia website.

Stay tuned to PBRAustralia.com.au and follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Australia) and Instagram (@PBRAustralia) for the latest results, news, stats and more.

 

Origin History

Queensland has had a stranglehold on the PBR Origin trophy since the competition’s inception, winning all five series and allowing New South Wales to pick up just two event wins from the twelve matches.

The Maroons took victory over the Blues in Sydney at the inaugural PBR Origin in 2019 and backed that up with a 2-0 win in the 2021 series. The 2022 and 2023 series went the way of Queensland 2-1, and in 2024, they scored a clean sweep of the matches to win 3-0.

In 2021, Lachlan Slade picked up the inaugural Cowboy of Origin award for New South Wales after he went 3-from-4 across the long rounds. Queensland young-gun Qynn Andersen led all cowboys in 2022 with an incredible 5-from-6 performance across the series, and in 2023, Maroon’s skipper Aaron Kleier rode 4-from-6 to claim the top rider award. Last season, Queenslander Ben Bode took home the $30,000 bonus following his 3-from-6 effort across the series.

View the Team Announcements for Team New South Wales and Team Queensland.

 

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 winners and take a 1-0 series lead to Origin II at Brisbane in June.

Riders will compete for over $50,000 in prize money at each PBR Origin event, plus points towards the 2025 PBR Australian National Standings. Event points will be up for grabs in Rounds 1 and 2 only, and the individual event winner will be the cowboy with the highest aggregate score following the second round of competition.

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.

Watch all the action on the PBR Australia Live Stream page from 7:00 p.m. AEST on Saturday.

 

Talking Points

Experience and Performance

New South Wales will debut seven riders in Game 1. Just two of the Blues squad have recorded a qualified ride in a PBR Origin Event, with their combined riding record sitting at 5-from-21 (23.81%) – and four of those scores belong to Clint Glass.

On the other hand, Queensland has just three riders making their debut. The other seven riders have at least one complete series under their belt. Combined, the Maroons have a riding record of 35-from-98 (35.71%) at this level – and more than half of those have come from Kurt Shephard and Macaulie Leather.

However, on the 2025 Monster Energy Tour, the riding percentages of the squads are much closer - 29-from-123 (23.57%) for the Blues and 35-from-122 (28.68%) for the Maroons – so this series might finish closer than many are expecting.

 

The Race to Eight

Eight scores have been enough to secure victory in 9 of the 12 PBR Origins held so far, and that will be each team's aim again here in Newcastle.

Queensland has completed eight qualified rides ten times, winning seven of those matches, while New South Wales has reached it four times and won two of those events.

The Maroons have averaged 8.67 rides totalling 726.88 points per Origin, while the Blues have averaged just 6.42 scores for 538.92 points across the twelve matches.

 

Take a look at the full Daysheet for Saturday.

 

Key to Victory – New South Wales

While the Blues don't have the experience of their opponents inside the PBR arena, they will have an abundance on the back of the chutes.

Coaches Lachlan Richardson and Cody Heffernan have 51 outs of experience in PBR Origin competition, and both have captained their state. Their task will be to instil the belief in their team that they can compete with this Queensland side across the three events despite the lopsided history.

After a slow start to his season, Clint Glass should be full of confidence following his win at the Armidale Invitational early last month to earn qualification for the Blues. He looks to be the experienced key to a strong team showing for the Blues.

Tyson Smith enters his second Origin series after being shut out when competing as a reserve rider last season. This season, he has three top-5 finishes to his name, and he could be the one that provides the spark to the New South Wales lineup.

Debutants Jack Brodrick, Jack Rowlandson, and Matheus Lima Rodrigues have achieved some excellent results this season, covering 33% of their bulls on the 2025 Monster Energy Tour. If they can combine to contribute a handful of qualified rides towards the Blues total, that should keep them in touch and make a game of it.

Should the Maroons start to get on a roll, the coaches and home state crowd may have their work cut out to get their team back in the fight given the stage.

 

Key to Victory - Queensland

The Maroons have plenty of consistency up front despite losing some stars over the past few years.

Kurt Shephard and Macaulie Leather will be the riders who will lead the way once again. Combined, they have a 50% success rate in Origin across their careers and score at an average of just under 85 points a trip, so we know what they will bring to the contest.

Reigning Cowboy of Origin Ben Bode went 4-for-8 across his first series in a Queensland jersey. Despite an up-and-down start to 2025, he looks to be the x-factor for the Maroons again this year.

The continued success of this Queensland team could fall to young guns like Zane Hall and Rylee Ward, who are both 5-from-15 in their Origin careers. If they can get their jobs done in the long rounds, that confidence should filter down, and we will see debutants such as Thomas Triplett and Nash Mellers shine.

We know that Queensland coach Jared Borghero will have no issues getting his squad up and about - as he has from the dirt for the past few seasons, but if the Blues can apply some pressure, we may see some cracks appear.

 

Check out the PBR Australia website on Saturday for The Morning Line for in-depth analysis of the highlight matchups for PBR Origin I.

 

Stay tuned to PBRAustralia.com.au and follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Australia) and Instagram (@PBRAustralia) for the latest results, news, stats and more.