Voted by rugby fans as the "biggest hero" of the triumphant 2001 Wallabies side, Joe Roff is tipping Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii to be the break-out star of this year's series against the British and Irish Lions.
Following the Brumbies' semi-final exit from Super Rugby Pacific, Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt is set to unveil his first squad of the year in Sydney on Thursday.
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The squad will prepare for a one-off Test against Fiji in Newcastle on Sunday, July 6 before the Wallabies who will tackle the tourists in Brisbane on July 19 are revealed on July 11.
Suaalii has declared himself "fully fit" for the three-Test campaign after fracturing his jaw last month and is a certain selection, with Roff saying the cross-code gun will bring the "X-factor" the Wallabies need to topple the star-studded Lions.
In 2001, the Wallabies got off to a slow start against the Lions and were comprehensively outplayed in the opening Test, losing 29-13.
But starting on the wing, Roff played a major role in wrestling back the series in game two in Melbourne.
Trailing 11-6 at halftime, he intercepted a Jonny Wilkinson pass to score seven minutes into the second half before adding a second as the Wallabies piled on the points to win 35-14.
They then clinched the series in Sydney 29-23 with Roff topping a Rugby Australia fan poll with 34 per cent of vote to be declared the "biggest hero".
The three-time World Cup ace said he watched Suaalii shine in his Test debut late last year against England and believed he would again perform on the big stage.
The pair share similar attributes, playing on the wing or at fullback, both known for their speed and power with ball in hand.
"I've been very impressed - he's obviously an incredibly gifted athlete, but he also understands the game, and he reads the game well, and he has the x-factor that you can't coach," three-time World Cup ace Roff told AAP.
"He's already proven what a wonderful player he's going to be for the Wallabies and I think this rubs off.
"You have to have a psychology of winning and I think this rubs off on the players around him, because they know that he's a guy that can turn a match, do something special and do have that x-factor that can win a Test match.
"That will be a great sort of psychological edge for those around him at the same time."
A two-time Super title winner with the Brumbies, Roff would like to see a swathe of players from Australia's top-ranked side rewarded with selection.
"The Brumbies should absolutely be, that's by virtue of the quality of play that the individuals are bringing to their game at the moment," Roff said.
He also felt with just one Test before facing the might of the Lions, there was value in selecting combinations within the side, such as in the halves with Brumbies duo Noah Lolesio and Ryan Lonergan.
"I'm an advocate for combinations, rather than splitting them up in key areas of the team," Roff said.
"They're very much in the same boat as we were in 2001 in terms of limited preparation and when you think about the Lions, they are already together now, so their combinations will be a lot more settled and prepared than ours will be.
"But the coaching team, the players, have known this for the last year or two, and there are already combinations that are in place, that are playing very well so it's going to be smoother to fall into the patterns that Joe Schmidt and the coaching team want.
"But it may be the same scenario where the Lions come in as a better prepared despite smashing together a whole lot of different nations."
