The cowboys have performed very well at previous Monster Energy Tour stops in Cairns, producing riding percentages above the season averages in six of the last seven years.

The long round pen for tonight's event contains plenty of good opportunities for the riders to post scores in the low to mid-80-point range and a few chances to get into the high 80's. 

With only the top twelve riders qualifying to draft a bull for the Championship Round, every point the riders can earn could mean the difference between the bull they want and one they don't want to see.

View the full 2025 Cairns Invitational Daysheet.

Let's dive into a few of the best long-round matchups:

Round 1

Lauchlan Waters on 55 Concrete Jungle (Kleier Bucking Bulls)
The South Australian gets a nice early chance to get his name on the leaderboard in a favourable matchup with Concrete Jungle. Waters has been struggling a little on tour over the last six weeks of competition, but a matchup like this could be just what he needs to right the ship. This bull has been ridden twice in five PBR competition trips, and both of those scores belong to right-handed riders. He will turn back to the right and into Waters' hand, but he can look to the left before entering the clockwise spin.

Luan Crystian Camara on 108 Cash Club (MJ/Keliher Bucking Bulls)
Camara went 10-from-17 across Origin Season and sits a clear 2nd on the National Standings. He has come up against a few unfavourable draws of late and bucked off his last four bulls. Here, he will face Cash Club, who has allowed one score so far in his short career. That score went to Zane Hall last weekend in the Tasman Cup for 85.50 points. This bull will initially turn back to the right and into the Brazilian cowboy's hand, but we could see him reverse the spin to the left as the whistle approaches.

Donnie Rutherfurd on 201 Soulja Boy (CF7 Bucking Bulls and Heffernan)
We haven't seen Rutherfurd on tour since he finished runner-up at the 2023 PBR Australia Grand Finals on 3-from-5 riding. He hit the road in 2024 and picked up cheques in 12 of his 17 events across the USA and Canada. Soulja Boy has been ridden twice from just three trips since joining the CF7 truck. Both scores belong to Rylee Ward, with the Kiwi recording 83 and 83.50 points in the last month of competition. The bull should start to the right and away from Rutherfurd's hand, but he usually reverses late, which should allow the Mount Isa talent to finish strong.

Zane Hall on 105 City Nights (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)
Hall is another rider who has performed very well across the Origin season, covering seven of these twelve bulls. Six of those scores were good enough to pick up the round win, and he won the event title at PBR Origin III in Sydney. He should stay hot here against City Nights. This bull has been ridden for two scores in his four-out career for an average mark of 83.75 points. His regular trip has him turning back to the left and into the Athol bull rider's wheelhouse.

Sam Woodall on 121 Double Shot (T&F Bucking Bulls)
Woodall will be riding a wave of confidence following his last ride heroics for the Blues in Sydney, and that belief should be enough to get him a score here. He is 4-for-7 since returning from injury and is making leaps and bounds up the National Standings Leaderboard. Double Shot will likely turn back to the left and away from the Heywood talent's hand, but I think his tempo is quite good, and most riders will get along fine with him. Caiden Sandilands rode this bull for 83.25 points at last year's Grand Finals, and I think that level of score will become the norm for riders who face this bull.

Nash Mellers on 359 Nine Ball (T&F Bucking Bulls)
Nine Ball has become a favourite draw for the riders, especially for the righties, who are 2-for-3 against him. He doesn't have a set trip, but we usually see him take a few jumps out into the arena, faking in one direction and then turning back the opposite way. Mellers has bucked off his last eight bulls after a rough time of it in the Maroons jersey, but he should be getting back to full fitness now. If the Gracemere cowboy can stick with this bull until he settles into his spin, he should be able to gain the upper hand late.

Tyson Smith on 37 Hawkeye (Kleier Bucking Bulls)
Smith missed out on a score last weekend in the Tasman Cup as he continues to battle his way through an ankle injury. Before that, he went 2-for-3 across the Brisbane and Sydney Origins, and I think he can regain that form here against Hawkeye. This bull has faced plenty of left-handed riders in his career, but it's been the right-handed riders that have dominated the scorers column. Righties hold a 50% success rate aboard this bull and are on a run of three straight qualified rides, averaging 84.25 points. The Walcha talent will be disappointed if he lets this one get by him.

Jack Rowlandson on 766 Tropical Rash (Dunne Bulls)
Tropical Rash is far from the easiest draw in this round, but the cowboys have ridden him in his last two trips after the bull bucked off thirteen straight riders prior. Kurt Shephard scored 86 points in Newcastle, and Luan Crystian Camara followed that up with 84.25 points in Brisbane. Rowlandson missed out on a score in Sydney, but he looked good in the Tasman Cup last weekend, so I think we can expect him to continue to rebound here. In the Oberon's talent's favour is the bull's preference for a left-handed spin, and I think that gives us a coin-flip matchup to end the long round.

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