It's no secret that Cairns is one of my favourite tour stops of the season, and the cowboys enjoy it too, with above-average riding percentages and ride scores recorded in seven of the last eight visits to Far North Queensland.

Tonight's long round features a lot of unridden and rarely ridden bulls that have had fewer than ten trips in PBR Australia competition, but I think we can expect to see some movement in the qualified ride column for a bunch of them. 

There is also a scattering of rider-friendly veterans amongst the pack, so the riders who were lucky enough to draw one of these bulls will be looking to take full advantage to position themselves for a strong pick in the Championship Round draft.

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Let's break down some of the better opportunities for the cowboys to post a score:

View the full 2026 Monster Energy Cairns Invitational Daysheet

Round 1 Matchups

Jack Rowlandson on 002 Victor Radley (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)

The Oberon cowboy is in the midst of a buck-off streak that dates back to Round 2 at PBR Origin I in Newcastle, but his buck-off times against a tough run of bulls tell me that he isn’t far from breaking through. I got to see Victor Radley in his PBR debut a few weeks ago at Burnett Heads. He put in a big fake to the right, before turning back to the left, but he wasn't at his best in the deep sand on a cold, wet night. The firm Cairns surface will give him a much better opportunity to show his athleticism, and I think his action should fit well with the left-handed Rowlandson. I am not sure how many points will be on offer, but if they can land around the 85-point range, it will be mission accomplished.

Kurt Shephard on 009 On Edge (TF Bucking Bulls/Jaxon Burrell)

Shephard has emerged from a tough run of bulls across the past three events with an excellent riding record of 4-from-7. He gets a good chance to maintain that momentum here in a rematch against On Edge. They teamed up for 82 points at the Grand Finals last season with the bull faking to the right and turning back to the left. It is one of four scores the bull has allowed so far in his short career, with three of those going the way of left-handed riders. Any score in the long round will be a good score, but the Mareeba veteran will be hoping he can be a point or two higher than his previous ride to ensure he gets a decent pick in the Championship Round draft.

Rylee Ward on 129 Or What (TF Bucking Bulls/4H Helicopters)

Or What made his PBR debut at Mackay last season, emerging with two buck-off wins against a pair of left-handed riders, so Ward will be the first right-handed rider to climb aboard Or What. The Kiwi bull rider had a rough path through the Meatstock Touring Pro events in Toowoomba and Sydney, covering just one bull from five attempts. The qualified rides have been flowing through his social media feeds over the past month or two, so he looks to be regaining the form that saw him finish inside the top ten on the National Standings leaderboard in the past two seasons. This bull should turn back into his right hand, with scores in the mid-80-point range probable.

Keny Roger de Oliveira on 109 El Tora (Keliher Bucking Bulls)

Fans who tuned in to PBR Origin II in Brisbane will remember this rematch. This was the final trip of the night, with Oliveira needing to make the whistle to clinch the win for the Blues. But it wasn’t to be, with the bull winning in 6.72 seconds. The Brazilian has ridden five of his eight bulls across the last three events and picked up a cheque at all nine events he has entered in Australia. It is hard to fault anything he has done, but if he has one kryptonite, it is bulls that spin away from his hand, and we can expect El Tora to do exactly that here. I don't think we will see too many bulls get past Oliveira twice, but this one might remain a tough draw for left-handed riders, so this looks like a fifty-fifty matchup.

Zane Hall on 800 Ambush (CF7 Bucking Bulls)

Hall has picked up the best draw in the round. Ambush has had an incredible career, and the amount of prize money earned on him would certainly be up there with the best. He has allowed 24 qualified rides from 63 trips, averaging almost 86 points, with 12 of those riders collecting round-winning points. He produces a consistent, well-timed trip, which makes him one of the most rider-friendly bulls we have seen. This will be the third time they have matched up. Ambush won their first bout back at Toowoomba in 2023, and Hall got the victory for a round-winning score of 84.25 points at Brisbane in 2025. They should initially do battle around to the left and into the Athol bull rider's hand, with a late reversal to the right typical.

Thomas Hudson on 818 Cover Up (CF7 Bucking Bulls)

Cover Up is one of the more experienced bulls in this long round, and Hudson is one of the twelve riders to combine with him for a qualified ride. That score came at Mackay last season, where they were marked 84.50 points after the bull turned back to the left and into his riding hand. In fact, the Dungog cowboy is one of seven riders to record round-winning numbers aboard this bull. I think we can expect a repeat of that here. On paper, Hudson is 2-from-7 across his last three starts, but visually, he has been riding much better than that. Look for him to take advantage of this positive draw and secure a strong pick in the final round draft.

Luan Crystian Camara on K22 Night Howler (Dunne Bulls)

We haven’t seen much of Camara since his return to Australia, but he looked fit and focused at the Touring Pro event in Burnett Heads a few weeks ago. There he went 1-for-2 against a couple of bulls that produced similar trips – faking a turn to the right before turning left and away from his hand. Night Howler has shown us a few different trips so far in his short career, but he seems to initially favour a turn back to the right. That should allow the São Paulo talent to get off to a good start, but the difficulty comes from the bull's off-time action, which disrupts the cowboy's rhythm. Boston Leather won the bonus round at Origin II in Brisbane aboard this bull with 85.90 points, and I think these two can land in a similar area. 

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