BRISBANE, QLD - Queensland Captain Macaulie Leather and his men in maroon were too strong for their southern counterparts to take Game I of the PBR Australia's 2024 Origin Series and extend their Brisbane winning streak to four in a row.

As the 2024 PBR Origin Series got underway at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, it was the men in maroon chaps storming out of the gates in Round 1 to take the momentum in early action.

Reigning 2023 PBR Australia Champion Leather was the first to find the whistle inside the BEC, with his first out as Queennsland's leader a successful one, grabbing a tidy 84-point effort away from his hand on Rifleman (BK Bucking Bulls).

As the bovines shut out the nine following riders from both sides, PBR veteran Beau Willis gained his first qualified ride in the PBR Origin arena, getting Shotgun (ST Bucking Bulls).

The young bucker faded out after a strong start, turning back to the left, but at the five-second marker, started heading in a straight trot around the Brisbane dirt to give Willis and QLD a 76.75-point score that the locals decided to hold, declining a re-ride.

Queensland continued to tick the scoreboard with two more 8-second trips to end Round 1. Zane Hall amended his 2021 PBR Origin II buckoff on Houston Calling, getting the Ruhland Ranch bucking bull done into his hand for 82.25 points.

Ben Bode celebrated his PBR Origin debut in the best way possible, with the current Australian No. 5 gaining the highest-marked ride of Round 1 with a picture-perfect trip away from his hand on Airborne (Wallace Bucking Bulls) for 85 points.

With Queensland taking a four-ride, 328-point lead into the second round of action, the animal athletes again showed their pure dominance, with the first 17 riders failing to reach the promised land.

Cattle King Roid Rage from the Dittmann Bucking Bulls' pen provided a mammoth display of bull power for the Brisbane locals, roaring out of the chute gate and turning back to the right with that ferocious low spinner trip that he's known for to dislodge Zane Hall early to gain a 43.25-point bull score, which would be good for the highest of the round.

It was going to take something special for the NSW team to open their account after being shut out for the first 13 trips, and they got just that through Tamworth cowboy Lachlan Slade.

Slade, who was sharing the chute with Rambo (Dittmann Bucking Bulls), stepped up to the plate. He showed absolute perfection on the young bucker, never leaving the middle for a mammoth 88.25 points to hand NSW its first qualified ride and Slade the highest-marked ride of the event.

As the night rolled into extra outs, the top eight cowboys of the event were awarded one more go-around before the Series moved onto Newcastle in two weeks, and the floodgates opened for both teams during Round 3.

Rylee Ward clocked another qualified ride for the men in maroon on the first out of the short go, taking Ambush (CF7 Bucking Bulls) in both directions for 86.75 points to open his Origin account for 2024.

After Josh Grant's first appearance in Origin finished in misery, the following four riders were all able to find the whistle and give both teams some momentum heading into Game 2.

Zane Hall chalked up his second score of the night on The Pet (ST Bucking Bulls) with 84.75 more points for his team, followed up by Lachlan Richardson, who could not be denied around to the right on Jackie Red (Dunne Bulls) for the second-highest score of the night, an 87.25.

Macaulie Leather snagged his first ride as QLD Captain on the very next out, getting Spit n Grit (MJ/Keliher Bucking Bulls) done for 83.75 points. Thomas Hudson, who gave NSW their third score of the event, scored an 82.75-point mark on Ruhland Ranch's Wild Force.

Ben Bode used his re-ride opportunity with Fast & Furious (ST Bucking Bulls) for the last out of the event, deciding to have one more crack for his home state and handing the Maroons another 82.25 points.

Queensland Captain Macualie Leather was wrapped with his team's performance post-event.

“The boys are a dominant crew, and they did their job and executed the plan perfectly," Leather said. "We know our job, so we’re just going to keep going at it for the next two rounds."

The Maroon will take a 1-0 lead heading into Newcastle in two weeks at the Newcastle Entertainment Centre on June 22nd.

Tickets can be purchased here.

Box Score: Queensland: 8-for-24 (665.50 points) New South Wales: 3-for-24 (258.25 points) Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points) 1. Lachlan Slade, 0-88.25-0-0-88.25-108 Points. 2. Ben Bode, 85-0-82.25-0-85.00-78 Points. 3. Macaulie Leather, 84-0-83.75-0-84.00-54 Points. 4. Zane Hall, 82.25-0-84.75-0-82.25-38 Points. 5. Beau Willis, 76.75-0-0-0-76.75-25 Points. Boston Leather, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-87.25-0-0.00 Braydon Wellby, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Rylee Ward, 0-0-86.75-0-0.00 Lane Mellers, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Thomas Hudson, 0-0-82.75-0-0.00 Bryn Francis, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Diego Galdino dos Santos, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Brumby Brandenburg, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Clint Glass, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Toby Collins, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Will Watson, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Josh Grant, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Tyson Smith, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Jono Couling, 0-0-0-0-0.00 JC Davis, 0-0-0-0-0.00 Bradley Wheeler, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Photo courtesy of Elise Derwin/PBR Australia