It all came down to the final two bulls of the night in a nail-biting showdown between Queensland and New South Wales during the second leg of the Professional Bull Riders Australia origin series in Newcastle on the weekend.
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It culminated in Team Queensland clinching the series championship in front of a sold-out crowd, with 583.50 points, while New South Wales trailed closely behind with 510 points.
Team Queensland captain Macaulie Leather said he was extremely proud of the effort the riders put into securing their fifth origin series championship victory.
"It wasn't from lack of effort, both teams tried really hard, but happy with the outcome," said Leather.
"It's always good to have someone to chase, but I said to the boys we've still got it, and they went out and executed it perfectly.
"They've done outstanding, so really proud."
It was neck and neck for most of the night, with Team New South Wales initially taking the lead in the first round. However, Team Queensland turned the tables in the second round, surging ahead and setting the stage for a decisive bonus round.
It all came down to Team New South Wales' Clint Glass (Willow Tree) who needed to secure over 70 points on Canadian Club (Maynes Bucking Bulls) to secure New South Wales the victory but he was unable to ride out the eight seconds.
Glass' first two rides, MSG Locating Filthy Rich (Lazy G Bucking Bulls) and Crooked Intentions (Morgys Cattle Company) scored him the highest points of the night, earning him the title of Cowboy of Origin for the Newcastle event.
Trailing closely behind him was Ben Bode (Calliope), whose 86.25 points in Round 2 on Paintbox (MJ / Keliher Bucking Bulls) was a PBR Origin career high.
Rounding out the top five were Lachlan Richardson (Gosford, NSW), Rylee Ward (Central Hawkes Bay, NZL) and Lane Mellers (Mundubbera).
For the bovine athletes, it was Man Glitter (Morgys Cattle Co) who was the Winning Bull of the Night, earning 43.75 points in round 3, bucking off Ben Bode in 5.73 seconds
Despite being unable to level the playing field, Team New South Wales captain Lachlan Richardson etched his name in the history books as the first New South Wales PBR Origin rider to achieve ten qualified rides in his Origin career.
Richardson remains optimistic and expressed the team's determination to conclude the series with a victory in Cairns as they did last year.
"You never want to go down with a loss, but there's so much we take out of that," said Richardson.
"I'm very proud. There's always stuff to work on, even when you stay on, so we'll go back, regroup and have more fun than anyone else.
"We've got to do our job, and love what we do and just keep doing what we're doing."
Current number one on the Australian standings, Boston Leather ticked off his first ever PBR Origin qualified ride in round 3, with 79 points on Midnight Special (Diamond S Bucking Bulls - Brian Scott).
Team New South Wales rider Diego Galdino also covered his first-ever qualified bull ride in the origin series with 84.5 points on Poker Face (MJ / Keliher Bucking Bulls) during round 2 on a re-ride opportunity.
Thirteen-year-old Beau Cosgrove, who lives with a rare, life-threatening condition and fulfilled a lifelong dream in 2022 of riding at the Tamworth event as an honorary member of Team New South Wales, commentated the juniors event, which kicked off the night.
PBR Australia general manager Glen Young remarked that the tight competition had the entire crowd on the edge of their seats.
"It was an electric night, and the sold-out crowd certainly got behind both teams," he said.
"We witnessed a completely transformed New South Wales team; whether it was the advantage of home turf or the fact that they came in with a goal in mind, they dominated the first round.
"However, their efforts weren't enough to hold off Team Queensland, who surged in the second round and ultimately secured not only the night's victory but also clinched the series championship after their earlier win in Brisbane during the first round."
The final round of the PBR Australia origin series will take place in Cairns on July 13 and will play a key role in determining who will qualify for the PBR Australia grand finals occurring in Townsville on November 1 and 2.
"Heading into the final round, Team Queensland is aiming for a clean sweep, while New South Wales is determined to finish the series with an event win, which we saw them achieve last year," said Mr Young.
"We always love having Cairns as one of our key destination's events for PBR fans worldwide. It is always a success and we're looking forward to bringing the final origin event to the region."
