But the childhood family friends also have their eyes on a bigger prize of standing side by side in Wallabies gold if the debut of their combination goes to plan.

Sio and Alaalatoa, whose fathers played together for Samoa at the 1991 World Cup, are the Brumbies starting props for the clash against the Reds at Canberra Stadium.

Sio is back in the No. 1 jersey for the first time this year after overcoming hamstring injury.

Alaalatoa was Sio's loosehead prop understudy last year, but his switched to the other side of the scrum has paved the way for a dynamic duo.

The pair will be a part of a Wallabies camp at the AIS from Sunday as Test coach Michael Cheika brings an extended squad to the capital for a pre-international briefing.

"The [Wallabies battles] are there every year and I've learnt to take those as they come," Sio said.

"The vibe is always better if you get a win the day before, so hopefully we can [beat] the Reds.

"Allan and I have been talking about [starting together] for about a year now. He's had a great start to the season and been locking down the scrum for us.

"You've got to set goals and keep striving towards them, the first step for us [towards Wallabies] is on Saturday. But we've got to worry about the Reds first."

The Brumbies are wary of a fired-up Reds side, which has lost its past five games and won just three times in Canberra in Super Rugby history.

"I'm sure they will come out hard because they've come out hard in every game they've played," said Brumbies stand-in captain Scott Fardy.

"Teams will start separating soon and no one wants to be in that bottom pack."

SUPER RUGBY ROUND SEVEN

Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Queensland Reds at Canberra Stadium, 7.40pm. Tickets available for $20 if purchased before 6pm. Curtain-raiser: Brumbies legends v Reds Barbarians at 6pm.

Brumbies team: 15. Aidan Toua, 14. Henry Speight, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 12. Kyle Godwin, 11. Tom Banks, 10. Wharenui Hawera, 9. Joe Powell, 8. Jordan Smiler, 7. Chris Alcock, 6. Scott Fardy, 5. Rory Arnold, 4. Blake Enever, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 2. Robbie Abel, 1. Scott Sio. Reserves: 16. Saia Faingaa, 17. Nic Mayhew, 18. Ben Alexander, 19. Tom Staniforth, 20. Jarrad Butler, 21. De Wet Roos, 22. Andrew Smith, 23. James Dargaville.

Reds team: 15. Lachlan Maranta, 14. Chris Kuridrani, 13. Samu Kerevi, 12. Duncan Paia'aua, 11. Eto Nabuli, 10. Jake McIntyre, 9. James Tuttle, 8. Scott Higginbotham, 7. George Smith, 6. Adam Korczyk, 5. Kane Douglas, 4. Rob Simmons, 3. Sam Talakai, 2. Stephen Moore, 1. Sef Fa'agase. Reserves: 16. Alex Mafi, 17. Kirwan Sanday, 18. Taniela Tupou, 19. Izack Rodda, 20. Hendrik Tui, 21. Moses Sorovi, 22. Hamish Stewart, 23. Izaia Perese.