There is precedent. They used an overt surveillance strategy with LW with the intent that it could prompt a confession. Here is a citation
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claremont_serial_murders .
Seems logical that if covert surveillance was leading nowhere and costs mounting ( criticised heavily for their resource allocation and long term surveillance of LW) that they would apply pressure, as the OP stated, to incite some sort of mistake, such as revisiting a site of interest, or a deviation from his routine.
IMO the information that lead them to BRE whether familiar DNA or Huntingdale intrusion suspicion, was significant enough that there would be pressure to just arrest and test (against KK/Huntingdale/08 CSK DNA sample), rather than waste continued resources surveying him. As the window on their surveillance closed, there's really nothing to lose.
In regards to the most recent discussion that Julie Cutler was a CSK victim, Liam Bartlett reported detectives had told JC's father she was likely the first victim of the CSK. Combine this with the Lance Williams suspicion where his connection with JC through tafe was a contributing factor and we can be quite certain police connected these two crimes for a long time, at least in an unofficial capacity.
The main critique of the JC CSK theory is that the new connection with the HD intrusion suggests that his only intent was rape at this point in the timeline. The idea that serial killers stick to one MO is myth, Cooke is a great example of diversity in method. The other case that comes to mind is EAR/ONS, who evolved from B&E into B&E murders, but after the fact, still committed B&E's and assaults that didn't feature murder. So there is really no rational to believe CSK did not kill JC and then change strategies to lesser crimes like B&E / Rape.
I am most inclined to suspect that JC was the CSK's first or one of the first, that it was an opportunistic crime, with little planning or organisation. And therefore the car was the kill spot and was dumped to compromise evidence.
Here is a great article that has probably been posted,
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/re...t/news-story/2ee1d8937ad7499c2ed91edb39af5a1a
What I found interesting is the suspicion of Ross / Weygers two man kidnap team. IMO this theory definitely evolved from the showgrounds subway event where there were two perps, the taxi driver and a man in the back seats. If the showground subway incident was the CSK and the victim's recount accurate, the deduction would be the CSK had an accomplice in some of his crimes. I would speculate the obvious accomplice has been under parallel investigation.