Queensland co-captain Tate McDermott has challenged his side to this Saturday embrace a hostile Fijian crowd unlike any other in Super Rugby Pacific.
The fifth-placed Reds remain in the hunt for a top-four berth and quarter final hosting rights but must win all three of their remaining games, starting with this weekend's clash in Suva.
Conversely, the Drua currently sit in eighth and are desperate to bounce back from last week's 48-10 thrashing in Perth.
Throw in Queensland's Fijian contingent of Seru Uru, Suliasi Vunivalu, Alex Hodgman, Peni Ravai and the stage is set for a Super Rugby classic.
"It's incredibly special, obviously guys like Peni have played for Fiji and then you've got guys like Suli and Seru who'll have family at the game and know resort staff, that kind of thing," McDermott told media via Zoom from Fiji on Thursday.
"(Fiji's) a bit of a graveyard for travelling teams. They're a very vocal crowd … so we've got to be smart, do the little things well and ensure our effort areas are there.
"We've seen from their (Fijian) press that they're really disappointed from that last game against the Western Force, so they're going to be out to put in a good performance."
Queensland's last visit to Fiji saw them concede 29 unanswered points in a 41-17 loss that saw the Drua book their maiden finals ticket in 2023.
Three tries in the final 30 minutes set Suva's sold-out HFC Bank Stadium alight but McDermott says he's better equipped to deal with the crowd this time.
"You've got to embrace it, you can't go out there trying to silence (the crowd) 'cause you're never going to be able to do that," McDermott said.
"From a leadership point of view, we've got to connect more. Because it is so loud, players have to run in listen to the calls, make sure we're all aligned and on the same page."
