Queensland captain Elton Flatley is aiming to go from soothsayer to executioner in the space of eight days by leading his side to another ritual slaying of NSW in Brisbane on Saturday.

Flatley had pre-empted a possible Waratahs' capitulation last Friday by suggesting it was dangerous for NSW to be talking up their finals chances with two rounds of the Super 12 to go.

The Australian centre proved to be on the money as the Waratahs tumbled to an embarrassing 29-28 loss against the Highlanders at Aussie Stadium on Saturday.

The Waratahs now must claim a win against the Reds and hope other results go their way to make the semi-finals.

Flatley said the Reds, who will come off two wins in South Africa but are out of the finals race, would love nothing more than to continue their dominance over the Waratahs who have not beaten Queensland since the Super 12 began in 1996.

"Obviously NSW is a special game for us," he said from South Africa.

"It's something that we're brought up on when we first join the Reds squad. It's a game we love playing.

"We really enjoy the week, we really enjoy the build-up, we really enjoy going out there wearing our traditional (all maroon) jersey, especially in front of big home crowd.

"We've had the wood on them in the past and we're looking to continue that trend."

The Waratahs had a recovery session but it may take a few more days to get over a loss that simply should not have been.

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