Renowned for his bone-crushing hits, inaugural Canberra Vikings captain Fotu Auelua will use a softer approach to ensure Brumbies players and ACT club players can quickly combine in the National Rugby Championship.
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Auelua says he will apply leadership lessons from Wallabies skippers Ben Mowen and Stephen Moore into his new role for the Vikings.
Auelua will be aided by vice captains Jarrad Butler, 23, and utility back Robbie Coleman, 24, while fullback Jesse Mogg and Tuggeranong Vikings loose forward Tim Cree complete the five-player leadership group.
The side will embark on a three-day camp at Batemans Bay starting Friday to improve its cohesion in preparation for the season-opener at home to the Perth Spirit at Viking Park on August 23.
Auelua doesn't want there to be a gap between the club players and the professional contingent during the competition.
"It's really important we gel together and hopefully a lot of our unity comes together on the field,'' Auelua said.
"Hopefully they feel welcome and I'm trying to make that process as easy as possible.
"Tim [Cree] is someone who has trained with [the Brumbies] a couple of times in the off-season and he's someone who will be taking this competition really seriously.''
Cree has recovered from a knee injury that forced him to miss last weekend's John I Dent Cup grand final, while Coleman is also hopeful of overcoming an ankle complaint in time for the match with Perth.
The Vikings are a mix of players from the Brumbies and the best from Canberra's club competition.
Auelua, 30, is one of the most senior players in the team, but is looking to improve his leadership skills.
"I like to take a lot from Mowen who's been a good captain and Stephen Moore, who's a strong leader for the Wallabies,'' Auelua said.
''They've got good attributes and I want to learn a lot from them.
"It's a huge privilege and a great responsibility to captain this team.''
Coleman captained the Brumbies at this year's World Cup 10's tournament in Singapore and also led the squad to victory at the club world sevens in London in 2013.
He wants the club players to feel a part of the side as they take another step closer to securing a professional contract.
"You've got a lot of players who are coming from club rugby as well, so we've got to make sure they're not here to make up the numbers,'' Coleman said. "They're as important as everyone else.
"There's some really quality players out there and the beauty of the NRC is they get to show their talents to Australia.''
It's also a chance for Mogg to end his year on a high note after what he admitted was a difficult season personally with the Brumbies.
"I was a little disappointed; it's probably a fair way off what I've done in the last two years,'' Mogg said.
''I'm working towards having a strong 12-week mini pre-season within the NRC and having a much stronger year in 2015.''
