Angland has moved to Boggabri in the past year and showed at the National Finals Rodeo this month he is on top of his game with seconds in the saddle bronc and bareback bronc rides.

He had two second placings in rounds of the saddle bronc to be second in the aggregate on 301, 15 points behind winner Augathella (Qld) rider Peter Moffatt.

In bareback, he had a first, equal first and second to be second in the aggregate on 298 behind winner Fred Osman, of Tibooburra (NSW), who received 317 points.

The new season starts this month and the only action in the first four months of the season will be in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

The next rodeo in the APRA is at Nebo in North Queensland on May 24. There will be more action in North Queensland at the Bowen River Rodeo on June 7-8.

Riders will then have the chance to compete on the Northern Run where three of the five rodeos in Queensland are on the highway from Townsville to the Northern Territory border at Richmond, Cloncurry and Mt Isa.

After the richest rodeo in Australia at Mt Isa on August 8-10, competitors will have the opportunity to travel on to the Northern Territory for three rodeos in mid August.

This season, the format for determining title winners will change and the top 15 will receive some carry over points for their success on the pro tour when the National Finals Rodeo starts in May next year.

The 15th placed riders going into the finals will still have a chance to win the title buckle but will need to perform better at the finals than the pro tour winners.

The bottom line is competitors who do the travelling and finish high in the top 15 will have an advantage in the end-of-season finals which gives New South Wales riders the incentive to make the extra effort to compete in the three Northern Territory rodeos in August.