Taking on Illawarra and the Central Coast in a triangular tournament, the Baby Bulls scored 52 points and did not have their own line crossed once, sending out a strong message ahead of their title defence.

Giammarco said such is the level of fire-power out wide he and the rest of the coaching staff will have several tough choices to make, but said there are still areas the side needs to improve on.

“Our biggest issue will be the backs and trying to sort out who will make the final squad because we have some strong boys there,” Giammarco said.

“There are a few on the fringe, but overall the quality has been excellent from what we can see.”

Underlying their potency in attack, Central West blitzed Central Coast to outscore them 26-0 in just 20 minutes.

Mudgee’s Nathan Orr and Orange Emus’ Jake Roberts came in for praise from Giammarco, but the Baby Bulls’ pack also showed strong signs during the set pieces.

“Our line-outs were very strong, I don’t think we lost one all day, the structure and the timing was very pleasing,” he said.

“We’re happy with how the guys did but (head coach) Scott (Hatch) and I were trying to tell them we didn’t know if Illawarra and Central Coast were understrength or not and that we still have some things to work on.

“The weekend was the first time they have played a 15-man game, so for them to always know where somebody is going to run with the ball is not always an easy thing.

“But Hatchy is working on that with the forwards for the next three training sessions.”

In a big boost to their chances of retaining the Rowlands Cup, Giammarco said the signs were there the side was willing to put their bodies on the line without the ball.

“We were impressed with our defence. It’s one of those things - the attack will come, but if you can’t stop points being scored against you then it’s hard to win games,” he said.

“So to score 50-odd points and keep both teams scoreless was the most pleasing thing and there were a fair few attacking raids.”

Hatch will narrow the final squad down to 23 after their next training session on April 12.