Brisbane-raised Brumby Tuaina Taii Tualima has lit the fuse ahead of Saturday's ACT-Queensland clash, questioning the Reds' physicality as the race for a top-three finish heats up.
Tualima started in the Brumbies' 39-26 win over his former club at Suncorp Stadium in Round 9 and is raring to renew their rivalry at GIO Stadium this weekend.
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"Every time I play the Reds, I always want to win," Tuilama told reporters in on Tuesday.
"It'll be a good game. The Brumbies have always had good games against the Reds. They (Queensland) play a similar style but I feel we're a bit more physical."
"I feel like it's always tough for teams to come to Canberra and play in the cold weather, so I'm excited to finish strong.
"Pretty keen to get the win this weekend, trying to stay in that 1-2 spot, get the rest (ACT have a Round 15 bye) and go again against the Crusaders."
A junior star for Brisbane State High School, Tualima, 27, is relishing his new lease on life in Canberra after previously representing Queensland (12 caps) and the now-defunct Melbourne Rebels (22 caps) in Super Rugby.
An early-season brush with dengue fever coupled with the arrival of his newborn son have already made 2025 a memorable year but Tualima is just grateful for the opportunity to be back on the paddock with his family watching on.
"It was pretty crazy, I was just bed-sick for about two, three weeks and then coming out of it just lost all of my game fitness so it was about gaining my strength back slowly … body's feeling good now," he said.
"I'm loving it (in Canberra), it's not as big as where I've from but really loving how quiet it is. Me and my partner are really enjoying having the little one with us - he's just got his (vaccination) so he'll be at the game this weekend (and) my parents will be there as well."
The result of Saturday's ACT-Queensland clash will have major finals implications for both sides with just two regular-season rounds to follow.
The fourth-placed Reds have already secured their finals berth but are now hunting a top-three finish while the Brumbies (second) can mathematically finish as minor premiers if they post victories over Queensland and the third-placed Crusaders either side of a bye.
Les Kiss' men currently sit five points behind the third-placed Crusaders and seven points behind the Brumbies. They face the Hurricanes and Fijian Drua at home in their final fortnight.
"It's massive for us ... we lost here (in Brisbane) against Brumbies, we want to get one over them," Reds hooker Richie Asiata told reporters on Tuesday.
"We'll take it game by game and wherever we land in the finals we'll be ready to go."
