But Toomua declared the injury demons which ruined his - and star centre Christian Lealiifano's - seasons last year no longer haunt the instrumental pair.

The Brumbies will end a nine-year finals drought when they play the Free State Cheetahs at Canberra Stadium on Sunday.

It's a chance for Toomua and Lealiifano to make amends after injuries forced them to sit on the sideline last season watching the Brumbies crumble as the finals series loomed.

But while it has been suggested the pair's absence contributed to last year's choke, Toomua said his motivation was repaying the Brumbies for putting their faith in him.

''I don't get caught up in hypotheticals or what people say,'' the 23-year-old said. ''This is a big game and you want to perform in big games.

''From me, I want to perform and prove to myself and others that I can perform on a big stage.

''Whether that leads to further honours I don't know. You can't hide from the fact it's a finals game, but it's only a perception that it forces pressure. If you can control your emotions, you learn to just let it flow.''

Toomua and Lealiifano have formed a dynamic flyhalf-inside centre combination this season and the Brumbies have scored 43 tries - 12 more than the Queensland Reds.

Lealiifano made his Test debut against the British and Irish Lions and most believe Toomua will follow him into the Wallabies squad in the coming months.

Toomua was given the Brumbies flyhalf reins last season, but played only a handful of games before rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament and being forced to have a knee reconstruction.

Lealiifano took over the chief playmaking role in Toomua's absence until he dislocated and broke an ankle.

The pair's injury frustrations were compounded by a last-round meltdown against the Auckland Blues, and as a result the Brumbies missed the finals.

The squad has been carrying heartbreak over the loss to the Blues for the past year. Toomua and Lealiifano, however, have not been burdened by the defeat.

Toomua has been at the Brumbies for six years but is yet to taste success.

Despite his experience, he had a massive brain snap in another shock loss to the Western Force last weekend, throwing a 20-metre forward pass when the game was on the line after forgetting to ground the ball in his own in-goal.

''It was probably a record forward pass,'' he said. ''I had a few things on my mind, it is what it is and you have to move on even though you realise how silly it was. We didn't deserve to win against the Force … I'm not fazed by it at all. It goes without saying that we think we can win the competition.''

He said his focus was on the Super Rugby finals series, not the Rugby Championship and Bledisloe Cup Tests, which start next month.

''Any player in Australia who would say they haven't thought about the Wallabies would be lying.

''But [the Brumbies] are still playing at the moment and for me it's exciting to be in the finals. I've been here six years, I've got a desire to do something for the club.''

Lealiifano and Toomua's careers have mirrored each other.

Both players have been in and out of the starting XV since making their debuts in 2008.

Both have suffered major injuries and now they both have the chance to chase Super Rugby glory as the team's playmakers.

''I'm just trying to bring back a bit of experience and knowledge back [from the Wallabies campaign],'' Lealiifano, now a three-Test veteran, said. ''You try to take everything in your stride … call them pressure games or whatever, but playing for the Wallabies really helped me with peace of mind knowing I could cope at that level, and hopefully that helps going into Sunday afternoon.''