PBR Australia Travels to Brisbane, Queensland July 10 for Second Leg of 2021 Origins Event as Team Queensland and Team New South Wales Battle for Bull Riding Supremacy

 

After holding the inaugural PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Origin event in 2019, the league will once again stage the highly anticipated state vs. state western sports showdown in 2021, holding the second installment of the three-part series of events July 10 in Brisbane, Queensland, at Brisbane Entertainment Centre. Team Queensland and Team New South Wales will go head-to-head to determine which state is the supreme bull riding powerhouse.

PBR Australia held its first Origin event in 2019, when Team Queensland (682.5 points) defeated Team New South Wales (428.5 points) inside Sydney’s ICC Theatre. Now a three-part series of tour stops, the PBR Origin is modeled after the State of Origin rugby event that is considered Australian sport’s greatest rivalry.

The 2021 PBR Origin ll - Brisbane will abide by a series of health standards and protocols as approved by Queensland Health, including:

• Maintaining social distancing amongst patrons and minimizing fan crossover when entering and exiting.
• Social distancing throughout the event, with all riders, stock contractors and staff maintaining 1.5-meter distance, except when crucial to the safe performance of bull riding.
• Brisbane Entertainment Centre will have digital and other signage throughout the venue promoting the 1.5-meter distance and will recommend masks be worn when the distancing cannot be maintained.
• Ensuring all contact tracing requirements are met.
• Signage at venue entry instructing attendees not to enter the venue if they are unwell, have COVID-19 symptoms, have been overseas in the last 14 days, or have been in close contact with a confirmed case. These protocols will also be communicated when event tickets are purchased, via social media messaging, and a pre-event email.
• Increased sanitization of high-contact areas throughout the event.
• Emphasis on digital tickets. For those attendees without a smart phone, the Brisbane Entertainment Centre will offer a print-at-home option.
• The Brisbane Entertainment Center will accept cashless payments only for food, beverages and merchandise.

For each iteration of the 2021 PBR Origin, each team will be comprised of 10 riders, including a Captain, who will be announced in April 2021.

While the Captain will ride at each of the three events, the remaining nine positions will be filled based on world and national standings at preselected dates throughout the season. With more than $45,000 on the line, and crucial national points awarded to the competing athletes, the PBR Origins Champion will be the team that wins two or more events in the series.

The 2021 PBR Origin event will get underway in Newcastle, New South Wales on July 3 at Newcastle Entertainment Centre. Following PBR Origin II in Brisbane, the event will conclude with PBR Origin III on July 17 in Cairns, Queensland at Cairns Convention Centre.

Historically, PBR Australia has held nine events in Brisbane, including the uniquely progressive elimination formatted Last Cowboy Standing from 2015-2019. Riders from around the world travelled to Brisbane, Queensland looking to conquer Australia’s rankest bulls, earn crucial world and national points, and be crowned the season’s Australian Last Cowboy Standing.

In 2019, Kurt Shephard (Mareeba, Queensland) went a perfect 3-for-3 to earn the victory in Brisbane. The now 26-year-old first rode Posting Bail (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) for 82.5 points, before going the distance aboard POA Lock N Load (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) for 88.5 points, and covering Ooh Call Me Joe (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) for 86.5 points.

Throughout the PBR’s storied history in Brisbane, only one rider, Cody Heffernan (Singleton, New South Wales), has won the tour stop in back-to-back seasons. After dominating the event in 2015, Heffernan was again crowned the Last Cowboy Standing in 2016 en route to his first PBR Australia Championship.

Other past Brisbane event winners include: Cliff Richardson (2018 – Gresford, New South Wales); J.W. Harris (2017 – Mullin, Texas); Clancy Butler (2013 – Willow Tree, New South Wales); Chase Outlaw (2012 – Hamburg, Arkansas); Rocky McDonald (2011 – Chihuahua, Mexico); and Jim Rowsell (2010 – Goondiwindi, Queensland).

The bull riding action for PBR Origin II – Brisbane begins at 7:30 p.m. AEST on Saturday, July 10 at Brisbane Entertainment Center. The event will feature three rounds of competition. After each of the 10 competing bull riders for both teams attempt one bull each in Round 1 and Round 2, the Top 4 riders from each team will advance to the bonus round for one final out. The event winner will be the team with the highest combined score in the event aggregate.

In addition to vying the title of PBR Australia Origin Champion and their share of the event purse, riders will also be competing for points towards the Australian national standings and broader PBR World Standings.

Tickets for the PBR Origin II – Brisbane are on sale now, starting at $42.25, standard fees may apply, and can be purchased at Ticketek.com.au or pbraustralia.com.au.  

All future PBR Australia events are subject to change, planned in accordance with directives issued by relevant government and health authorities given the evolving regulations during the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.