Lane Mellers Captures Career-First PBR Australia Event Victory in Mackay, Surging 21 Positions and Cracking the Top 10 in the National Standings

MACKAY, Queensland – Marking the ninth time in PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Australia history the league bucked into Mackay, Queensland, Lane Mellers (Mundubbera, Queensland) reached a critical career milestone Saturday afternoon inside BB Print Stadium, capturing his first event victory on home soil, victorious at the Monster Energy Tour’s PBR Mackay Invitational.

As one of just two riders to go a perfect 2-for-2, the 21-year-old began the event with an 81-point effort aboard Cattle King Ray Ban (Dittman Bucking Bulls), the second-best score of Round 1.

Continuing the momentum in the championship round, Mellers punctuated his flawless performance with an 83-point trip atop Freckles Brown (Peter Wallace).

Mellers’ victory earned him a check for $1,949.40 along with 74 national points, catapulting him 21 positions in the national standings as he surged from No. 28 to No. 7.

Seeking his third consecutive qualification to the PBR Australia Grand Finals, slated for Nov. 20-21 in Townsville, Queensland at the Townsville Entertainment Center, Mellers is now within 190 points of No. 1 Lachlan Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales).

Richardson competed at the afternoon edition of the PBR Mackay Invitational, however failed to net national points after he was bucked off by Ranga (Dittman Bucking Bulls) in 2.95 seconds in Round 1.

PBR Australia No. 2 Aaron Kleier (Clermont, Queensland) also gained ground on No. 1 Richardson courtesy of his sixth-place finish.

Going 1-for-2, Kleier covered Mixed Culture (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) for 78 points in the opening round. Despite challenging the call, Kleier was denied a flawless performance when he was bucked off by Cattle King Boogers Beach (DIttman Bucking Bulls) in a heart-breaking 7.91 seconds in the final round.

Two-time and reigning PBR Australia Champion Kleier remained No. 2 in the national standings, however honed in on No. 1 Richardson, now within 35 national points of the seven-time PBR World Finals qualifier.

Should Kleier once again win the PBR Australia Championship in 2020 he would become the first rider in league history to win the nation’s championship in three consecutive seasons. Additionally, Kleier would be on the precipice of tying David Kennedy (Kyogle, New South Wales) for winningest rider in Australian history. Kennedy is a four-time PBR Australia Champion, winning the title in 2009-2010, 2012 and 2014.

Kleier is also competing for the chance to earn the nation’s invite to compete at the 2020 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) Finals, presented by First PREMIER Bank and PREMIRE Bankcard, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Nov. 6-7.

The Australian representative to the season-culminating event for the league’s U.S.-based expansion series will be the top-ranked rider in the national standings as of October 15. At the 2020 PBR PWVT Finals, the Australian invite will then have the opportunity to earn one of four berths to the 2020 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast in Arlington, Texas on Nov. 12-15 at AT&T Stadium.

Jake Curr (Mount Isa, Queensland) finished second, earning $1,379.40 and 58 national points.

The Queensland native rode Meet Ya Maker (Brandenburg/MJ Bucking Bulls) in Round 1 for 80.5 points, before going the distance aboard Iron Jacket (Peter Wallace) for 82.5 points in the championship round.

Curr’s efforts propelled him from No. 5 to No. 3 in the PBR Australia national standings. He now trails the No. 1 ranking by 130 points.

Third was Sam Woodall (Heywood, Victoria).

Advancing to the final round on time, bucked off by Might Whitey (Peter Wallace) in 7.04 seconds in Round 1, the 22-year-old made the most of his second chance, winning the championship round with and 84.5-point trip on Notorious (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls).

Woodall left BB Print Stadium $1,219.80 richer, having also earned 45 national points. He rose five positions in the national standings, now No. 5 in PBR Australia, after starting the double-heard No. 9.

The 22-year-old, who is seeking his first-ever qualification to the PBR Australia Grand Finals, is within 163 points of No. 1 Richardson.

PBR World Finals qualifier Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland) parlayed an 83.5-point, Round 1-winning ride aboard Seek and Destroy (Peter Wallace) to a fourth-place finish.

He collected a $912 paycheck and 35 national points for his efforts.

Fielder is now No. 16 in the national standings, climbing from No. 25 and within 226 points of the top ranking.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Kurt Shephard (Mareeba, Queensland) in fifth.

He rode High Class Hooker (Brandenburg/MJ Bucking Bulls) for 79.5 points in Round 1 to earn $239.4 and 16 national points.

Shephard is now ranked No. 18 in the national standings with nine events remaining prior to the 2020 PBR Australia Grand Finals.

Incredibull (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) and Hair Trigger (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) tied for the bull of the event honors, posting matching 42.5-point bull scores. Incredibull dispatched Ty Thomson (Mount Walker, Queens) in 4.61 seconds in the championship round to earn the top marks, while Hair Trigger earned them in Round 1 when he dispatched Jay Borghero (Beaudesert, Queensland) in a swift 1.73 seconds.

Fans can relive all the action for the 2020 PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour’s Mackay Invitational on RidePass starting at 8:00 a.m. AEST on Sunday, October 11 at RidePass.com or via the RidePass app available on iOS, Android and Roku.

The PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour is anticipated to next travel to Rockhampton, Queensland, and the Great Western Hotel with the 2020 PBR Rockhampton Invitational on Saturday, October 17. The tour stop will once again feature a double-header competition, with action getting underway at both 1:00 p.m. AEST and 6:00 p.m. AEST. Stay tuned to PBRAustralia.com.au for the latest event information.

PBR Australia Monster Energy Tour – PBR Mackay Invitational 1
BB Print Stadium – Mackay, Queensland
Event Leaders (Round 1- Round 2-Event Aggregate-Payout-Australian Points)
1. Lane Melleers, 81-83-164-$1,949.40-74
2. Jake Curr, 80.5-82.5-163-$1,379.40-58
3. Sam Woodall, 0-84.5-84.5-$1,219.80-45
4. Brady Fielder, 83.5-0-83.5-$912-35
5. Kurt Shephard, 79.5-0-79.5-$239.40-16
6. Aaron Kleier, 78-0-78-$0-9
Bailey Woodard, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Brendan Buckholz, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Brody Woodard, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Budd Williamson, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Caiden Sandilands, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Cameron McLennan, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Harry Bridges, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Jack Keats, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Jay Borghero, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Kelsey Pavlou, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Lachlan Slade, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Lawson Nobbs, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Matt Hollis, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Mitchel Paton, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Rohan Markham, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Sam Champ, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Ty Thomson, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Zane Hall, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Braydon Wellby, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Ben Gard, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Michael Smith, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Jackson Gray, 0-0-0.00-$0-0
Eli Bee, 0-0-0.00-$0-0