Central West to trial against Uni-North Owls as part of Country Championships preparation

As the Blue Bulls lay the platform for a tilt a third consecutive Caldwell Cup triumph, coach Dean Oxley is staying true to his goal of pursuing the best possible players from all corners of the Central West.

No players - no matter their playing history - will be handed a spot based on their past achievements. For Oxley is about those who show form ahead of the June long weekend Country Championships.

This Saturday's trial against Canberra-based outfit Uni-North Owls, will give hopefuls a chance to showcase what they have to offer.

"We've had a number of sessions starting in November last year and we just wanted to put it on the field and see who we've got. There are going to be some people just arriving into the zone, which happens every year, and we haven't had a look of them, so it should be quite interesting to see how we go," Oxley said.

"So with COVID we've had our challenges, but with COVID we've also had people move back to the country which is quite positive. These people have high level football and if they're in a position to apply that to the Blue Bulls, we're very much looking forward to it."

At the moment Oxley has around 40 players vying for the final squad and he expects that number to increase as the Central West Rugby Union season approaches.

But he's already got some fresh talents who come with impressive resumes to cast his eye over.

"There's a guy by the name of Oli Harvison who has moved to Orange and has previously played for Sydney University, he's a lock, back-rower who we're very much looking forward to seeing how he fits into the group because he's a new person," Oxley said.

"There's another fellow Tom Redden at Coonabarabran who has again moved out of Sydney. Then we have George Murrin, who played first grade for Norths in Sydney.

"Angus Roberts, who played for the Rebels, he played for the Emus last year and he's put his hand up to be involved with the group. We're really excited about that too because he's a class player.

"These guys have not been selected, but as we go through the program there's an opportunity for them to claim a position. It's important for everybody to know that each year it's a new group and it's available to all comers, the people who perform will get selected regardless of if they've been in the team before or not."

Oxley's squad, the Central West women and the under 21s will all trial against the Owls in a weekend that will be an important part of their Country Championships preparation.

The Central West players will watch the ACT Brumbies take on Super Rugby rivals the Queensland Red on Friday night, have "a fairly extensive training session and board session" on Saturday morning, then face the Owls that afternoon.

The Owls play in the ACT-Southern Rugby Union competition and shape as formidable opponents, but the trial games are more about viewing new talent, working on combinations and getting players to buy into the Central West mentality.

"The hardest thing for a representative team is for everyone to have the same goal regardless of where they are coming from and even what they're bringing. We all have to try and point in the same direction," Oxley said.

"We want players to have the Blue Bulls in the front of their mind, we want it to be part of their year and one of their goals."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: