The Mackay Invitational is always one of my favourite stops on the Monster Energy Tour. Each year, it gives us a good idea of which riders are travelling the best as we head into the last few events before the PBR Australia Grand Finals.

It is usually one of the strongest pens assembled all season, and this year looks no different, with a solid mix of experienced and emerging bucking bulls contracted. Many of these bovine athletes will feature in the Townsville finale next month, so riders will be eager to boost their confidence with a strong showing in the Sugar City sand.

View the full 2025 Mackay Invitational Daysheet.

Let's dive into a few of the best matchups for Friday night:

Round 1

Nash Mellers on 935 Evil Eyes (Kleier Bucking Bulls)

Mellers should be full of confidence after his strong finish last weekend in Nowra. The Gracemere young gun ended the night in second place and created some distance from the Grand Finals cut line. With that pressure easing slightly, he should be able to give Evil Eyes a good go here. This bull has faced six left-handed bull riders in a row, and since his pattern usually is to turn back to the right, I’ll be keen to see how a right-hander handles him. This bull was ridden for two scores of 84.5 points late in 2024, and I reckon a score close to that will be quite competitive in this round.

Caiden Sandilands on 201 Soulja Boy (CF7 Bucking Bulls/Heffernan Partnership)

Soulja Boy has been ridden three times since making his PBR Australia debut with an average ride score of 82.75 points awarded. He generally likes to start his trip by turning back to the right and then reversing to the left. Sandilands put together a podium finish at his last event in Hawkesbury, finishing the weekend 2-from-3 courtesy of some handy bull rides. If the Rockhampton talent can get this bull started away from his hand, he should be able to use his power to finish the job following the direction change.

Donnie Rutherfurd on 800 Ambush (CF7 Bucking Bulls)

Rutherfurd is lining up for just his second tour event of the season, and he rarely finishes out of the money when he competes in the PBR. His last appearance was at Cairns, where he rode his long round bull and finished 8th. Ambush is an imposing bull, but he has been quite friendly to riders in his 54-out career. He has been ridden 17 times, with 9 of those rides resulting in wins for the corresponding round. More than half of the scores have gone to left-handed riders, which bodes well for the Mount Isa cowboy. Look for this bull to start spinning to the left and reverse to the right.

Ben Bode on 16J Mood Swing (Dunne Bulls)

It has been an uncharacteristic few months for Bode, who has now bucked off his last eight bulls dating back to the Cairns Invitational in July. He has drawn well here to get his weekend off to a good start in a favourable matchup with Mood Swings. This bull has been ridden twice in his last three trips for scores of 84.50 and 83.50 points awarded. The first of those went to the left-handed Alison Aguilar at the Tasman Cup. This bull prefers to spin to the left, but the Calliope lefty will need to stay focused, as the bull has thrown a few tricks into his trips in the past.

Kurt Shephard on 806 Mr T (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) and Luan Crystian Camara on 011E Alpha Blokes Warden (MJ and Keliher Bucking Bulls)

The two top-ranked cowboys in PBR Australia have drawn deep here in the opening round. Shephard will be out in Section 2 while Camara will anchor the Round.

Shephard will face the reigning Bucking Bull of the Year for the fourth time, and the bull holds a 3-nil advantage. The latest of those matchups took place at Caboolture a couple of months ago, where the clock was stopped at 2.69 seconds. Mr T has bucked off 27 straight riders, and last week in Nowra, I thought he produced one of his best trips of the season, posting 43 points in 4 seconds of work. He will turn back to the right and away from the Mareeba cowboy’s hand.

Camara will go head-to-head with The Warden for the second time. They met up at Caboolture in August, with the matchup over in just 1.50 seconds. This bull will buck from the left chutes tonight after mainly coming from the right in his career. We got a preview of this situation in Cairns, where he demonstrated that his trip is just as intense spinning to the right as it is to the left. The right-handed Brazilian has a task ahead of him with The Warden unbeaten in his 26 trips in the PBR.

Round 2

Rylee Ward on 413 Quitting Time (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)

Quitting Time has been a difficult bull to get out of the chutes in his last few outings, but the Kiwi bull rider generally doesn’t spend too long between the steel, and that could be to his advantage here. Ward hasn’t been in the best of form, only riding two bulls from his last eleven attempts, but I think his form is better than it looks on paper. Many of those buck-offs have come in the second half of the rides. Quitting Time is yet to be ridden, but he has faced more left-handed cowboys than righties. He should turn back to the right, not far from the gate, and into Ward’s hand. I reckon there are plenty of points in this bull.

Kurt Shephard on 86 Manshake (TF Bucking Bulls/L&R Finch Partnership)

Another rematch for Shephard. They combined to win the opening round at Beaudesert earlier this season with 86.50 points. The bull left the chutes faking a turn to the left, before deciding to turn back to the right. That’s a standard pattern for this bull, and I think they will make the whistle once again. Shephard has come down early from his last four bulls, his longest streak of buck-offs since 2023, so don’t expect him to be down for long.

Zane Hall on 121 Double Shot (TF Bucking Bulls)

After going 7-for-12 during team season, the Athol talent has gone 1-for-7 since, but he has a couple of good matchups tonight. The second of those is Double Shot, who has been ridden once from his five outs. That score went to fellow leftie Caiden Sandilands at the Grand Finals in Townsville last season. We have only seen this bull a couple of times since that trip, but he still prefers to turn back to the left. Hall looked good at Nowra to split a third-place finish, and he can keep the momentum building and remain in gold buckle contention with a strong finish here.

Clint Glass on 172 Roam Aviation Without Warning (Dunne Bulls)

Glass is another rider who needs to keep the ball rolling with the Grand Finals approaching. He picked up an injury last week in Nowra, but the Willow Tree veteran is a hard man to keep down, and I know he will be up for the challenge in Mackay this weekend. He has ridden four of his last seven bulls and finished 1st, 2nd and 5th in the lead up to Nowra. Without Warning has been ridden twice from ten trips. He prefers a spin to the right, which puts him into Glass’s riding hand. Bryn Francis owns the most recent score with 84.50 points at the Tasman Cup, but there is another point or two in this bull.

Luan Crystian Camara on 009 On Edge (TF Bucking Bulls/Jaxon Burrell Partnership)

Camara regained some form at Orange after a tough few months on tour, winning the event with a perfect 2-for-2 record. Following his tough assignment in the opening round, this looks like a nice opportunity to post a handy Round 2 score. On Edge has allowed two scores in his short career. Zane Hall won a round at the Tasman Cup, and Toby Collins placed in the money at Cairns the following week. This bull can mix up his trips, but I don’t think it matters which way he goes. Camara should be able to do his job, reach the bell and score in the mid-80s.

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