An eight second ride sent the crowd into a frenzy when a Victorian man took out the Professional Bull Ride at the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival.
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After a busy day of triathlon and horse racing, patrons moved into Dirt n Dust Central to cheer on national bull riders as they chased the title for vital points on the PBR circuit.
Will Purcell was crowned the winner on Saturday evening (April 13) and was one of very few competitors who had a successful ride, scoring 87 points.
Purcell only just claimed the victory in front of Lachlan Richardson on 86 and Mitchel Paton on 83.5.
Successfully riding his bull in the first round, Purcell said it would have been better if he had of rode his bull in the final.
"It always feels good to win, however I would have felt a little better if I could have the glory of riding my second bull also," he said
"I would have liked to capitalised on my win, but I am just glad a rode a good bull in my first round and it was a good enough to sustain a win."
Before competing in the Julia Creek rodeo, Purcell was placed 20th in the Australian standings but has since climbed to 13th after his win.
"This was my first time competing at the Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival. For my ride I was on a young bull and I wasn't too sure what to expect, he turned back right at the gate," Purcell said.
"He fit my style and made an entertaining ride for the crowd.
"The Dirt n Dust Festival has been awesome, we were never really told what we were in for but it has been a fun time while we have been here and it is a nice little country town."
The current top five bull riders in the Australian PBR standings includes Cody Heffernan in first place followed by, Lachlan Richardson, Aaron Kleier, Cliff Richardson and Troy Wilkinson.
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