Two years after Canberra's San Antonio Spurs guard Patrick Mills brought the NBA championship trophy to Brumbies training, Gregan believes the team can turn to the world's best basketball competition for extra motivation to turn around a trans-Tasman war.

The Brumbies play the Otago Highlanders in a knockout quarter-final at Canberra Stadium and face a daunting Australia v New Zealand record that is the talk of the competition.

Australian teams won just three of 25 games against New Zealand opponents in the regular season, including the Brumbies winning just one of their five matches.

But Gregan pointed to Steph Curry's Golden State Warriors' history-making season where they conquered records, including the most wins in a season, before losing to the LeBron James-led Cleveland Cavaliers in the finals.

James and Curry earn enough money alone to cover the salary cap of all five Australian teams.

But when the NBA world met the Brumbies in 2014, Mills' words of inspiration helped lift the Brumbies to a victory against the Waikato Chiefs.

"Sometimes people forget that through the season all you're doing is jockeying for a spot to play in the finals," said Fox Sports expert Gregan.

"Once it comes to finals, none of that matters. Form, momentum and confidence from winning is very important.

"But if you went on that, I don't know how the Golden State Warriors lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"If it was as simple as that then the Warriors would have won everything and there's no reason to even play finals.

"There's no doubt the Brumbies' form has been inconsistent, but they'll be happy they're there and know that a couple of good performances can change it.

"They know they can play. They know they've got the armoury to hurt teams. It's going to be an exciting challenge."

The Brumbies finalised preparations on Thursday for the first week of finals and held a meet-and-greet with fans in Civic.

The new Super Rugby trophy was on a tour to Canberra to show the Brumbies what they were playing for.

More than 10,000 tickets have been sold for the quarter-final while the first 2000 fans to the game will get a free pie as the club prepares for an early kick-off at 6pm.

The Highlanders boast one of the most dangerous back lines in the competition, led by fullback Ben Smith and supported by Aaron Smith, Waisake Naholo and Malakai Fekitoa.

The Brumbies have only lost two of eight finals in Canberra in Super Rugby history while the Highlanders have only won twice in the capital since 1996.

The Brumbies have the most talented roster in Australian rugby, but are also preparing to farewell a host of stars including Stephen Moore, David Pocock and Matt Toomua.

Many view this season as the Brumbies' best chance to win a title since Gregan was part of the 2004 championship-winning side.

"It's a group that's been building towards this ... they came close in the grand final in 2013," Gregan said.

"It's the nucleus of those players from that great year, but a number of them are moving on.

"This is probably the last chance for that group, but the players coming through will give them a chance. You normally have a four or five window with a group of players and that is now for these players."

Gregan said the Brumbies should be alert for a fired-up Highlanders team, who fly under the radar despite being the defending champions and the second-ranked New Zealand side.

SUPER RUGBY QUALIFYING FINAL

Friday: ACT Brumbies v Otago Highlanders at Canberra Stadium, 6pm. Tickets available from Ticketek. TV time: Live on Fox Sports 2. Free parking until 4.30pm and the first 2000 at the ground get a free pie.

Brumbies team: 15. Aidan Toua, 14. Nigel Ah Wong, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Matt Toomua, 11. Robbie Coleman, 10. Christian Lealiifano, 9. Tomas Cubelli, 8. Jarrad Butler, 7. David Pocock, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Sam Carter, 4. Blake Enever, 3. Ruan Smith, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Scott Sio. Reserves: 16. Josh Mann-Rea, 17. Allan Alaalatoa, 18. Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin, 19. Tom Staniforth, 20. Michael Wells, 21. Joe Powell, 22. Andrew Smith, 23. James Dargaville, 24. Lausii Taliauli (one to be omitted).

Highlanders team: 15. Ben Smith, 14. Waisake Naholo, 13. Matt Faddes, 12. Malakai Fekitoa, 11. Patrick Osborne, 10. Lima Sopoaga, 9. Aaron Smith, 8. Liam Squire, 7. Shane Christie, 6. Elliot Dixon, 5. Luke Whitelock, 4. Tom Franklin, 3. Josh Hohneck, 2. Ash Dixon, 1. Daniel Lienert-Brown. Reserves: 16. Liam Coltman, 17. Aki Seiuli, 18. Siosiua Halanukonuka, 19. Mark Reddish, 20. Dan Pryor, 21. Te Aihe Toma, 22. Fletcher Smith, 23. Rob Thompson.