Game Notes – Tamworth

TESTING TOUGHNESS IN TAMWORTH – This weekend, for the 14^th time in history, PBR Australia will travel to Tamworth, New South Wales. As the 26^th event of the 2022 season, the PBR Monster Energy Tour Tamworth Iron Cowboy will buck into AELEC Arena on Saturday, November 5 at 7:00 p.m. AEDT. Following the event in Tamworth, just one event remains before the 2022 PBR Australia Grand Finals on Nov. 25-26 in Townsville, Queensland at the Townsville Entertainment and Convention Centre.

RELATED: Click here for the complete Tamworth Game Notes. 

THIS WEEKEND’S FORMAT – The PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour’s Tamworth Iron Cowboy at AELEC Arena will feature three rounds of bull riding. All competing bull riders will attempt one bull each in both Round 1 and Round 2.  Following the second round, the Top 8 will advance to the championship round where they will draft their final animal athlete opponent. The event champion will be determined by the rider with the highest total score from their three draws. One rider has the chance to win a maximum 105 national points in Tamworth.

ANDERSEN GAINS GROUND WITH WIN IN ROCKHAMPTON – At the most recent Monster Energy Tour event in Rockhampton, Queensland, there was no rider more dominant than young gun Qynn Andersen. Delivering a perfect 2-for-2 performance inside Great Western Hotel in Rockhampton, the 19-year-old sensation captured his third PBR Australia event win of the 2022 season, victorious at the Monster Energy Tour’s Rockhampton Invitational. When competition got underway in Round 1, Andersen first went head-to-head with Spit n Grit. Remaining in perfect time with the bull, the Queensland man reached the requisite 8 for 84 points. Positioned second on the event leaderboard, Andersen next climbed atop Get A Haircut in Round 2. Andersen remained perfect, scored a round-best 80.5 points to clinch the victory. For his efforts, Andersen collected a crucial 77 national points. He remained No. 3 in the race to be crowned the 2022 PBR Australia Champion but climbed within 280 points of No. 1 Aaron Kleier. This weekend, Andersen will look to make a further dent in Kleier’s lead when he attempts Fast & Furious in Round 1 and Great White Hunter in Round 2.

FAMILIAR WATERS – As competition gets underway for the PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour event in Tamworth, New South Wales, five riders will face familiar opponents in Round 1. Those rematches are:

• Brady Fielder will look to reverse his fortunes atop Rip Slinger. Renewing a rivalry first seen in the 2020 season, Rip Slinger bucked off Fielder in 5.16 seconds during the Monster Energy Tour event in Rockhampton, Queensland.
• Jake Curr has drawn Buck for the second time in his career. The powerful bull first bested Curr in 2019 in a hard-fought 6.62 seconds during the Monster Energy Tour stop in Traralgon, Victoria.
• Young gun Qynn Andersen will attempt to even the score with Fast & Furious. A matchup first witnessed earlier this year, Fast & Furious proved too much for Andersen to handle at PBR Origin II – Tamworth, sending him to the ground in 5.47 seconds.
• Taran Chirgwin will climb atop Spit n Grit the second time this season in Round 1 of the PBR Tamworth Iron Cowboy. At the Monster Energy Tour stop in Maryborough, Queensland, Chirgwin was upended in 4.11 seconds.
• Thomas Hudson has drawn the final familiar opponent. He first attempted Sting at the Touring Pro Division event in Quirindi, New South Wales, bucked off in 3.97 seconds.

Round 2 of the PBR Tamworth Iron Cowboy will feature two renewed rivalries. Those matchups are:

• Sam Woodall will square off with Russian Roulette for the fourth time in his career. The duo first danced in 2019 at the Last Cowboy Standing event in Brisbane, Queensland. He was bucked off in a quick 1.44 seconds. The two then met in 2020 at the Monster Energy Tour stop in Caboolture, Queensland, with Woodall again failing to meet the 8, sent to the ground in 2.72 seconds. Woodall most recently attempted Russian Roulette in 2021 at the elite tour event in Rockhampton, Queensland. Still searching for his first qualified ride, Woodall was bested in 5.72 seconds at the Great Western Hotel.
• Trefor Sproule will also have a rivalry renewed in Round 2. He will face Crackalackin for the second time. The two first met in 2019 at the Monster Energy Tour stop in Newcastle, New South Wales. Sproule was bucked off in 3.13 seconds.

PAST TAMWORTH EVENT WINNERS – This April, Tamworth, New South Wales, welcomed the 2022 PBR Origin tournament for the second leg of the state vs. state bull riding tournament. A resilient Team New South Wales kept their championship dreams alive, edging Team Queensland by one ride to win PBR Origin II – Tamworth and even the score to 1-1. With crucial national points also on the line, Team New South Wales’ Lachlan Richardson finished atop the podium, collecting 69.5 national points. As a result of the golden individual finish, Richardson surged from No. 5 to No. 2 in the race for the 2022 PBR Australian Championship. Looking down the podium, Team Queensland’s Michael Smith was second, while Team New South Wales competitors rounded out the Top 5 with Captain Cody Heffernan third, Will Purcell fourth and Lachlan Slade fifth. Smith collected 46.5 points to rise from No. 10 to No. 9 in the standings, and Heffernan added to his lead atop the standings, collecting 47 points for his bronze finish. Purcell and Slade also gained ground in the standings, with Purcell netting 35 national points to crack the Top 10 in the nation, rising to No. 10, and Slade added 22 points to his total, climbing to No. 17 in the standings.

Prior to this season’s PBR Origin event, Tamworth last hosted PBR in 2019 when Brady Sims rode to the event win at the Tamworth Iron Cowboy. Outlasting the other 27 competing riders, the American cowboy parlayed an 83.5-point score atop Wrangler’s Volatile in the championship round into his 14^th career PBR event victory across all levels of competition. Justin Paton was the last Australian to claim the title of Tamworth Iron Cowboy, earning the title in 2018. The Queensland native rode to the golden finish compliments of an 81-point score on Western Ways, an 83.5-point effort aboard Super Natural, and a clutch 88-point ride atop POA Palooka to cement the victory. In both 2009 and 2010, Tamworth hosted the season culminating PBR Australia Grand Finals, won by Rocky McDonald and Ben Jones, respectively.

The complete list of past winners is as follows:

Lachlan Richardson (2022)
Brady Sims (2019)
Justin Paton (2018)
Lucas Divino (2018)
Matt Triplett (2017)
Cristiano Cunha (2016)
Dave Mason (2015)
Jared Farley (2014)
Nathan Burtenshaw (2013)
Lachlan Slade (2013)
David Kennedy (2012)
Beau Willis (2012)
Ben Jones (2010)
Rocky McDonald (2009)

BULL PEN – During the opening round of the PBR Tamworth Iron Cowboy, two bovine athletes hailing from Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls will make their PBR debut. Those animal athletes are: Mud Flap (vs. Jack Keats) and Moonlight Bandit (vs. Bradley Wheeler).  

Several animal athletes will also begin the event having never been ridden. Those bulls are:

• Round 1: Little Thunder (22-0) vs. Jono Couling; Neon Dream (1-0) vs. Ben Moran; Village Idiot (1-0) vs. Sam Woodall; Sting (1-0) vs. Thomas Hudson; and Fast & Furious (9-0) vs. Qynn Andersen.
• Round 2: Arm Chair (17-0) vs. Thomas Hudson; Yella Belly (3-0) vs. Lachlan Slade; Life Plus 20 (5-0) vs. Jack Keats; Great White Hunter (1-0) vs. Qynn Andersen; and Why Be A Hero (2-0) vs. Clint Glass.

PROVIDING PROTECTION – This weekend’s protection athletes are Kerry Whitehouse, Eric Richardson and Nick Wilson.

NEXT UP – The 2022 PBR Australia season will continue Saturday, November 12 for the Touring Pro Division’s PBR Deepwater Invitational in Deepwater, New South Wales. Action at Deepwater Race Course will get underway at 3:00 p.m. AEDT. The event will mark the final tour stop prior to the 2022 PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour Grand Finals in Townsville, Queensland, om Nov. 25-26.

TAMWORTH COMPETITORS BY COUNTRY

Australia (22) – Qynn Andersen, Chris Borghero, Jay Borghero, Taran Chirgwin, Jono Couling, Jake Curr, Brady Fielder, Clint Glass, Cody Heffernan, Thomas Hudson, Jack Keats, Oscar Leake, Ben Moran, Braith Nock, Will Purcell, Lachlan Richardson, Dan Ruhland, Lachlan Slade, Trefor Sproule, Bradley Wheeler, Beau Willis, Sam Woodall.

BREAKDOWN BY STATE –

New South Wales – Chris Borghero, Jono Couling, Clint Glass, Cody Hefferan, Thomas Hudson, Oscar Leake, Lachlan Richardson, Lachlan Slade, Trefor Sproule, Bradley Wheeler; Queensland – Qynn Andersen, Jay Borghero, Taran Chirgwin, Jake Curr, Brady Fielder, Jack Keats, Ben Moran, Braith Nock, Dan Ruhland, Beau Willis; Victoria – Will Purcell, Sam Woodall.