The 2026 PBR Australia Monster Energy Grand Finals kicks off tonight with two long rounds of competition. Most riders drew quite well in at least one round, and a handful have a genuine chance of finishing the night 2-for-2.

On the opening night of the last five Grand Finals, the riders have ridden an average of 12 bulls across the first two rounds of competition. 

The 2026 season riding percentage is on track to finish well above the mark achieved in four of those five seasons, so I think we can expect to land slightly higher, at around 14 qualified rides, matching the 2025 edition.

Download the Watch PBR Australia LIVE app to catch the 2026 Grand Finals on your VR headset, phone, or tablet, or stream it to your TV. Head to watchvr.pbraustralia.com.au to get your Finals Pass.

Here are some of the top matchups to watch in the opening rounds:

View the full Daysheet for Night 1 at the Grand Finals.

Round 1 Matchups

Boston Leather on 115 Problem Child (TF Bucking Bulls)

The 2024 National Champion has drawn well here in the opening round and looks set to get his weekend off to a strong start. Leather has bucked off his last six bulls in PBR competition, but he gets a chance to snap that streak here against Problem Child. This bull has been out five times, with just one score recorded. That went to Alison Aguir at the Bull Pit for 82.90 points. We have yet to see a ranked right-hander climb aboard, and I think he will be a great fit for the Calliope cowboy. The bull should be out and around to the right and into Leather's hand, but he may fake to the left before entering his spin.

Caiden Sandilands on 1604 Little Scar Maker (ST Bucking Bulls)

Sandilands and Little Scar Maker have teamed up for two scores in the PBR Australia competition over the past two seasons. Both came at Beaudesert, with their 2025 matchup marked 83.50 points for the round win, and their 2026 matchup awarded 83.60 points. I think the Rockhampton talent can make it 2-for-3 here. Sandilands has been riding quite well, but his run of bulls at the latest tour stops hasn’t been ideal. Overall, Little Scar Maker has given up scores to 5 of the 7 left-handed riders, with an average score above 84 points. He should be out and round to the left, but he has been to the right once or twice.

Sam Woodall on 806 Mr T (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)

These two have history, with their personal series split at 1-all. Both outs came during the 2023 season, with the Mr T winning at Winton in 5.42 seconds with a bull score of 44 points, and Woodall taking a round win at Caboolture with 88.50 points. Ky Borghero made the whistle for 85.80 points at Caboolture, and at Mackay, Rylee Ward and Ben Bode both made it a long way into the clock before being bucked off. The 2024 Bucking Bull of the Year still has the moves to get the best riders in the dirt, but I think we should see a score here. Watch for them to do battle around to the right and into the Heywood bull riders' riding hand.

No. 1 Kurt Shephard on 144 Stetson Nirvana (Dittmann Bucking Bulls)

The highlight matchup of the night. The Mareeba cowboy has been in outstanding form over the past couple of months, winning in Mackay and backing that up with a gritty runner-up finish at Clermont. Nirvana has bucked off his last six cowboys and enters this matchup fresh, following his career-high marked trip of 44.50 points at Mackay. He has allowed two scores from his 21 trips, both to left-handed riders. Daniel Keeping scored 87.50 points in this building last season, and Alison Aguiar recorded 88.40 points and a round win at Burnett Heads in June. Nirvana has turned back in both directions during his career, but he probably prefers a clockwise spin, which will put him away from Shephard's riding hand.

No. 2 Zane Hall on TK302 (Kleier Bucking Bulls)

Hall has also been riding well over the past month of competition. He covered both of his bulls at Tamworth for a runner-up finish, but that momentum was halted when he faced two rarely ridden opponents at Clermont the following weekend. TK302 is unridden in his career, and one of those buck-offs came against Hall at Mackay on Friday night, with the clock stopping at 4.30 seconds. This bull has consistently run to the right and does it with plenty of pace. Most riders will get off to a good start, but they struggle to match the speed of rotation and end up out the back. The Athol talent will need all of his strength to stay up on his rope, riding away from his hand, in this matchup, but scores upwards of 85 points will be the reward if he can hang on. 

Hayes Weight on 089 Rock On (Dunne Bulls)

It's been a pretty good few weeks for the American, both inside and outside the arena. After winning a round at Mackay, he finished second to Hall at Tamworth. All of his qualified rides have come aboard bulls that have turned back into his hand, and he gets another one that fits the mould here in the opening round. Rock On has been ridden 20% of the time in his 15-out career, with right-handers 1-for-4. This bull has only just resumed competing on tour after almost a year away from the arena, and at Kilkivan he gave up 83 points to Leith Malone. He did turn back to the left on that occasion, but I think it may be a one-off. In his career, he has turned back to the right after looking or faking to the left in most of his trips. A score in the 85-point range should set Weight up for a good weekend.

Thomas Triplett on 800 Ambush (CF7 Bucking Bulls)

Ambush is always a great draw in these long rounds. He has allowed 27 qualified rides from his 68 trips, and 12 of those scores have produced a round-winning score. These two have history, with Triplett going the distance for 86.50 points and winning a round at Beaudesert at the start of the 2026 season. The Bungundarra young gun has bucked off his last seven bulls in PBR Australia competition, but he'll forget it all if he can bounce back here. The bull will likely turn away from his right riding hand initially, with excellent timing. He can reverse the spin late in the ride, which should allow Triplett to add some style points as the clock expires.

Rylee Ward on 218 Mr Colourful (CF7 Bucking Bulls)

I like this matchup for Ward. He took on Mr Colourful at Caboolture earlier this season, and the bull beat him in 3.54 seconds. The bull has been quite consistent lately in his trip pattern, faking to the left and turning back to the right. Right-handed riders own two of the three scores recorded from this bull's 14 outs, with Thomas Triplett and Luan Crystian Camara marked 87.10 points and 84.60 points, respectively. The Kiwi cowboy has been going along nicely, and his recent record is much better than the 4-from-10 record suggests. During this run, he has faced Last Post and Nirvana, and his buck-offs riding away from his hand have come at 6+ seconds.

Round 2 Matchups

Macaulie Leather on 818 Cover Up (CF7 Bucking Bulls/Pugh)

Leather returns to home soil for the first time since Origin II in Brisbane, but he has been tearing it up stateside, going 12-for-26 in PBR Teams competition with four 90-point rides for the Missouri Thunder. The 2024 PBR Australia National Champion holds an unbelievable riding record in this building of 10-for-17, and his combined 2024-2025 record is a perfect 8-for-8. Cover Up is a great draw in just about any round, with 13 qualified rides averaging 85.57 points, and 8 of those were good enough to take the corresponding round win. I expect this bull to turn back to the left and into the Calliope bull rider's hand, but he's turned back to the right a few times this season, so don't rule that out. 

No. 1 Kurt Shephard on 40-2 Brokedown (K3F - Farley Bucking Bulls)

Shephard's second draw is the unridden Brokedown. The average buck-off time across his three outs is 4.4 seconds, so we have had a pretty good look at him. This bull will turn back to the right, with good tempo and a bit of pace. That puts him away from Shephard's riding hand, but the reigning champion has ridden several bulls with similar action in the second half of this season. Bull scores suggest a qualified ride could land in the 85–86-point range.

Luan Crystian Camara on -120 Honey Hole (Lazy G Bucking Bulls)

Camara busted a 19-out buck-off streak with a qualified ride in the final regular-season event at Clermont a fortnight ago. It wasn’t much, just 75.20 points, but it will likely be enough to instil confidence in him to close out the season with a flurry. Right-handed riders have converted Honey Hole into a score at a 50% success rate, with scores in the low to mid-80s. Watch for the bull to turn back to the right initially, but he has some tricks up his sleeve for the final moments before the bell. Clint Glass and Zane Hall have ridden this bull back-to-back at Orange and Tamworth, and I think the Brazilian can make it three straight wins for the cowboys. 

Clint Glass on 918 Booga Wooga (Lazy G Bucking Bulls)

The Willow Tree veteran is the only rider to contest every event this season, and he arrives in Townsville in excellent form, with his riding percentage over the past couple of months well above 45%. He has a great opportunity to maintain that momentum here in a rematch against Booga Wooga. Three of the four scores recorded aboard this bull belong to right-handed riders, and Glass owns one of them. He was marked 84.80 points at the St Greg’s Touring Pro in April, after bucking off in 6.32 seconds at Scone earlier in the year. I think he can move to a 2-1 advantage here, with the bull expected to turn back into his hand once again.

No. 2 Zane Hall on 831 Pandemic (Lazy G Bucking Bulls/Edgar)

Hall's second opponent is exactly what he needs to keep his name in the Gold Buckle conversation – a strong bull with the potential to produce plenty of points and a round-winning ride. Pandemic has been ridden six times in his 37-out career, and five of those have gone to left-handed riders, with five taking the round win. The average score across all qualified rides is 85.66 points. He consistently turns left but sometimes tries to fake the rider out before snapping into his turn.

Ky Borghero on 108 Cash Club (Swain Cattle Company)

The Proserpine young gun is red hot. He has ridden four of his last six bulls over the past month of competition, climbing to No. 5 in the rankings. He has been getting them done in both directions too, which has made his run even more impressive. Here he takes on Cash Club, who has allowed just two qualified rides from 19 trips. He appears to prefer a spin to the right, but he isn’t the most consistent with his timing, which has made him difficult to get by in his career. Left-handed riders don’t have the best average buck-off time, despite the two qualified rides going their way. I'd like to see Borghero close out the night with a mid-80-point ride to break the bull's nine-out buck-off streak.

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