THE coaching combination of Matt McRobert and Brian Roberson will look to push the Central West under 20s higher up the pecking order when they contest the Country Championships in March.

In 2009 the side couldn’t quite make their way into the championship final but did manage to pick up some consolation by taking out the plate final, easily defeating the Central Coast in the decider.

That bright ending followed an earlier loss to Central North in Narrabri that put them out of the running for the major title, but they showed enough in that outing to suggest they weren’t far below the elite sides.

With at least six players from 2009 expected to return for another campaign, Roberson is optimistic his side will be competitive once more.

“We did lose that first game in Narrabri but we had a good Country week and won two games in Dubbo,” he said.

“I think at this stage we have between six and 10 guys who are likely to return, which is encouraging, and I think we look pretty strong for the coming year.”

Like their senior counterparts, the under 20s will hold their trials in Orange on January 16 at Endeavour Oval, and after an initially good response Roberson is expecting plenty of interest when the trials begin.

“We are going to pick a squad of 35 players to start with and that will be whittled down to 25 later on,” Roberson said.

“It is sometimes hard to get people motivated to trial at this time of year but in the past this is the way the team has always been selected and we have usually had a good roll-up to train.

“The only major issue we have is that many of the CSU players don’t return to Bathurst until February and miss the try-outs, but there are provisions in place for that. We are playing a trial against them early in March to ensure they get the chance to show what they can do.”

Trials for the Central West under 20s will be held from 2pm at Endeavour Oval in Orange.