By The Numbers: 2024 Rockhampton Beef Week Invitational
By: Sean Walsh Thursday, May 9, 2024 @ 9:40 AM
With the attention of the whole country turning to Rockhampton for Beef Week 2024, The PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour will make its first stop of the season at the undisputed home of Bull Riding in Australia, The Great Western Hotel.
Across two nights and three rounds of action, riders will look to gain the coveted Rockhampton event buckle and join some of the greats of Bull Riding in Australia as champions of the Rocky PBR stop.
PBRAustralia.com.au's Sean Walsh is back with another edition of By The Numbers, breaking down the battles you need to watch for ahead of Friday evening's Round 1 Action.
Matchups To Watch
Rylee Ward on AUJD-720 Figjam (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)
This opening round battle on paper between two PBR athletes making their way shapes up to be a belter of a contest.
The two-time New Zealand Bull Riding champion Rylee Ward is currently 2-from-6 to start 2024, having only just been piped by Lachlan Richardson for the event win at Sydney last month, getting two scores in the NSW capital.
Ward will be sharing a chute for the first time with Figjam (Dittmann Bucking Bulls), an animal athlete sitting on a 7-1 record and an impressive 41.5-point bull score average to date.
Having been taken to the whistle by a right-hander when Lachlan Richardson gained a score on the bucker in last year's Grand Finals, look for Ward to continue his dominance of late, with a trip into his hand and be in the conversation after evening one.
Diego Galdino dos Santos on AUFK-366 Footloose
The Brazilian import dos Santos will be happy with his draw on night one, with the southpaw paired with Footloose (Fred Kleier) for Friday's eight-second contest.
Diego is 22nd in the PBRA heading into Rockhampton this weekend, with his lone qualified ride coming on Wonderboy (MC Bucking Bulls) for 81 points in Round 1 at Sydney, on a nice trip into the hand of the Varzea Paulista, SP Cowboy.
Footloose is 5-2 from nine trips on the PBRA circuit, with 80% of buck-offs under the 3-second marker and a 41.43pt Bull Score average to boot.
Both of the black marks on the animal athletes are lefties (Macaulie Leather & Bryn Francis) and paired with a consistent anti-clockwise trip, it will be right into the wheelhouse of the young Cowboy to double his PBRA tally on Friday.
Stats Pack: Beef Week Rockhampton 2024.pdf
Braydon Wellby on AUPW-Y35 Black Tuxedo
It would be hard-pressed to find a bovine-rider matchup on the PBRA tour with as much history as these two, with the first time they shared a chute back in 2010 at the same venue.
PBR veteran Wellby has flown out of the gates early on in 2024, currently sitting in third spot with a 3-from-11 record and three top 3 event finishes already ticked off this year.
Peter Wallace's seasoned campaigner Black Tuxedo boasts a 45-11 record on the PBRA tour, with a 42.8 Bull Score average, and will be the only bovine on Round 1 to have 50 trips on the circuit.
The pair have twice drawn to face one another, with the bovine holding a 2-0 record on the North Queenslander, getting him down early at Rockhampton in 2010 and the 2018 PBRA Grand Finals.
Seven of the eleven qualified rides against Black Tuxedo have been lefties, but the low spin trip to the right that the bull has been known for will be away from the hand of Wellby.
It shapes up to be a fight until the end of the ride regardless of the result, but expect a big number if Braydon can find the horn inside the Great Western on night one.
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