Upper Hunter Riders Shine in Brisbane

State of origin commenced in Brisbane last Friday.

Team NSW was unable to hold off Queensland in the opening round of the Professional Bull-riding Australia State of Origin series after as the raucous crowd inside Brisbane Entertainment Centre was kept on the edge of their seats until the final.

 Holding off a hard-charging Team New South Wales, Team Queensland won the opening stop of the three-part tournament, edging the Blues by one ride and a mere 88 points.

 However, there were still positives.

Muswellbrook’s Joseph Down succeeded under pressure, putting the initial points for Team New South Wales on the board as he covered ‘Told Ya So’ (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) for 83.5 points.

Matched up against ‘Ariat’s Flaunt It’ (Dunne Bulls), Singleton’s Trefor Sproule reached the whistle and scored 82 points, to keep the Blues within 90 points of the defending Origin Champion Maroons.

Then 2016 PBR Australia Champion Cody Heffernan brought Team New South Wales within a mere three points of their rivals when he rode Gangatino (Brandenburg/MJ Bucking Bulls) for 87 points while Tamworth’s Lachlan Slade gave the Blues their first lead of the tournament’s opening event when he covered Random Assault (Dunne Bulls) for 85.5 points.

Heffernan finished equal third with Gresford’s Lachlan Richardson.

The three-part 2021 PBR Origin tournament continues this Saturday in Cairns.