PRESSURE is the key word for Central West heading into today's trial match at Wade Park against Central North.

Pressure from competing for spots in the Blue Bulls Caldwell Cup squad, pressure playing in front of an expected large crowd in the curtain-raiser to the Waratahs versus Fiji match and pressure taking on a Central North team keen for revenge after Central West relegated them to Richardson Shield last year.

Central West will have their first competitive hit-out of the year today and they are starting early as the calendar is yet to be flicked over to even February.

And although it is a mere trial match being staged as a lead-in to the highly-anticipated Waratahs Super 14 trial, Blue Bulls co-coach Dean Oxley is looking for results, although the score board is not his main focus.

Forwards Mosese Makasini and Toby Lewis have been brought into the Central West squad for today's game taking their contingent of players to 33, with selectors having to cull eight players for the Caldwell Cup in March.

The Central North fixture will provide a stage for players to push their claims and Oxley believes the hooker and flanker positions will be the spots most hotly contested.

"I've spoken to a number of players and given them a clear indication of who is trialling against who and I want to see them handle the pressure," Oxley said.

"The hooker position is very competitive. We've got two guys competing for that spot, the incumbent Al Hattersley and Adam Rayner from Mudgee.

"The next position I'm looking at is the back-row."

The buzz word pressure also came up when Oxley spoke about how he expects his team to handle playing in front of a crowd of thousands.

"I would like to think we would handle the occasion," he said. "If we can put them in a pressure situation where they can handle the crowd as well, as a pressure game, that should hold us in a good position for the Caldwell Cup."