Roff returned to the Brumbies' inner sanctum on Friday to present jerseys to the players 20 years after he spearheaded the ACT's first win over NSW at Concord Oval.

It's perfect timing as the Brumbies attempt to put a dent in the Waratahs' season and inflict NSW's first loss of the year.

And Roff is confident the Brumbies can harness a history of hatred between the bitter rivals to stamp themselves as Australia's best team.

"There was certainly a siege mentality when we played and the guys can use that again," Roff said.

"The Waratahs are always in the spotlight in the the media [if they're playing well]. We've always been in the shadow of 'Big Brother'.

"We [the Brumbies] are largely the misfits and rejects, and one of the goals every year is to create as many Wallabies as we can ... it's the frame of mind the guys have always had and this year's no different.

"I'm always proud of what the guys do and I'm particularly proud of where they are at the moment, they're carrying the pride of that Brumbies tradition."

The Brumbies and Waratahs have opted against trading verbal barbs before their blockbuster Super Rugby contest at Canberra Stadium.

The players from the 1994 Kookaburras team returned to Canberra on Friday to pump up the rivalry and re-live their historic victory.

For years, the Kookaburras had been beaten rejects in Sydney, but a night in the Rooty Hill RSL set up one of Australian rugby's most bitter rivalries.

The Kookaburras beat NSW 44-28, a win that largely defined rugby in the ACT and catapulted the Brumbies into Super Rugby in 1996.

Roff, in his debut Kookaburras season, starred as he teamed up with Geoff Didier, George Gregan, Rod Kafer, Marco Caputo, Paul Cornish and Murray Harley.

The 1994 NSW side boasted Matthew Burke, Darren Junee, Sam Payne, Ewen McKenzie and Phil Kearns.

ACT prop Harley said the Kookaburras "hate" for NSW was ready to explode on the eve of the 1994 game in the rooms at the Rooty Hill RSL.

"They [NSW] got all the trips overseas and merchandising and we got the Lowes blazers with ordinary ties ... but we didn't play for money, we played for the love," Harley said.

"But I'll give you one reason why we hated them the most – they put us in the Rooty Hill RSL.

"Every other team that went to Sydney traditionally stayed at the Camperdown Travelodge or somewhere closer to the city.

"But they put us in Rooty Hill. That was the last indignity, they didn't respect us. We got to a point where it was close to fever-pitch. We knew what our mission was that day and we did something that was historic and changed the balance of power."

The ACT also beat Ireland in 1994 and joined Sydney's Shute Shield in 1995.

A teenage Roff scored two tries and kicked goals in the massive 44-28 win 20 years ago.

"It was my first year out of school, I was fresh and naive," Roff said.

"All of the guys who had been battling against the Big Brothers of NSW for all of their careers ... I remember what it meant to them to get that victory.

"ACT rugby was always in a shadow compared to NSW. NSW didn't have an expectation that we'd give them a run for their money let alone be on the same field for them.

"It was one of the great battles and every other game against NSW was the same ... I think that feeling is still there. There's something special about playing the Waratahs."

The Waratahs have a horror record in Canberra, scoring just five tries in the capital in the past decade and having to wait until 2005 for their first Super Rugby win at Canberra Stadium.

The history isn't lost on Brumbies skipper Ben Mowen.

"[These days] I wouldn't go as far to say it's a hatred, that's pretty strong," Mowen said.

"One thing you get when you join the Brumbies is the history. Murray Harley is one of my old school teachers from Brisbane ... these games mean a lot to both provinces. These games bring out the best in you."

Harley hopes the Brumbies channel the 1994 Kookaburras and "bash" the Waratahs at Canberra Stadium.

"When we beat them in 1994, we were no longer to be taken as the poor cousins. There was a change in the balance of power," Harley said.