Sio is bracing for a forward-pack war against the Wellington Hurricanes at Canberra Stadium on Friday night with the Brumbies desperate to stay ahead in the Australian conference race.

The 21-year-old was part of a Wallabies logistics camp last month but was left out of the initial 25-man squad for the British and Irish Lions series.

Despite being a rookie, Sio still holds hope of securing one of the last six places in Wallabies coach Robbie Deans' squad, to be named on June 10. He'll get the perfect chance to show he's ready to shoulder extra responsibility when Test front-rowers Ben Alexander and Stephen Moore are unavailable for Brumbies duties next week because of a Wallabies camp. Alexander and Moore's absence will test the Brumbies' front-row depth as Ruaidhri Murphy is also unavailable following knee surgery.

It leaves Sio, Dan Palmer - who has missed the past two games with injury - and Ruan Smith as props and hookers Siliva Siliva and Josh Mann-Rea to step up.

''Those are the little opportunities to get in the year, we have to anchor the scrum there,'' Sio said.

''We have full faith from [numbers] 1-35 in the squad that whoever is needed can step up. It's not about me coming in and being a leader, it's just about the actions I do out there and being consistent week to week as well.''

Brumbies coach Jake White is preparing his team for a hard-fought clash of the forwards in the match against the Hurricanes.

The Wellington-based side has potent attacking weapons out wide, including blockbusting winger Julian Savea, but White expects the Hurricanes to target the Brumbies' big men.

''They've loaded the tight five, which is a sign they might want to take us on up front, which is another test for our team,'' White said.

''They scored four tries against us last year and two were from pick and drives and attacking lineouts, maybe they've seen that and will try to have a crack at us … the Hurricanes are desperate, too.''