Queensland coach Phil Mooney borrowed a line from Gough Whitlam and declared "it's time" for the Reds to again upset arch-rivals NSW on Friday night.

The Reds warmed up for their highly-anticipated Sydney grudge match with a dominant, yet frustrating, 22-3 victory over the woeful South Africans at Suncorp Stadium.

Queensland sealed their first win of the season with a three-tries-to-nil triumph but they should have reaped far more points in 34-degree Brisbane heat as their high-risk attacking game torched the struggling visitors.

"We could quite easily have put a score of above 50 on them," said Mooney.

A monopoly on possession and a huge territorial advantage was wasted through poor finishing as the home side bombed a handful of tries, including three spilt last passes with the line wide open.

But the entertaining Reds do have some momentum as they dare to dream of their first interstate victory over the Waratahs since 2004, and they will back their entertaining play to undo the competition leaders.

"It's a short turnaround but we're greatly relieved we've now got a win and it will add to the belief and it's a new challenge we're looking forward to," Mooney said.

"We've got the team to do it.

"We know NSW in a lot of areas are close to the benchmark in terms of their defence and in terms of their set piece so we will play a game that suits us but we know we face a few different focuses next week.

"We're a far better side than we were 12 months ago."

Then the depleted Reds were edged out 16-11 as NSW were on a drive towards the Super 14 final.

The return of Wallabies forward Hugh McMeniman has given the Reds pack extra grunt and their strong set-piece play against the Cheetahs suggested NSW would face a tough contest up front.

Apart from the bombed tries, Mooney was also justifiably upset at the officials for denying his team a bonus point through a controversial disallowed five-pointer to returning lock McMeniman when up 15-3.

McMeniman finished a brilliant team try midway through the second half, but a belated touch judge report for a debatable Quade Cooper shoulder charge on tall Cheetahs fullback Hennie Deniller saw it overturned.

"That's one of the quirks of the game when the referee is standing closer than the assistant referee and then after six-seven phases of the game someone with a worse view can come out and make a statement and the try is overturned," Mooney said.

The decision set the Reds back but they managed to finally score a third five-pointer when Van Humphries scooted clear and sent Peter Hynes over.

Cheetahs skipper Juan Smith didn't mince words after the loss, his team's 17th on the trot in Australasia, before he was forced to go to hospital with heat stress and suspected concussion.

"There's only one way to describe it, shocking from us," he said.

Playmakers Cooper and Berrick Barnes pulled the strings dangerously in the first half but the home side failed to capitalise on the helter-skelter style.

The Reds tight-five eventually showed the backs how to do it when hooker Sean Hardman, locks Humphries and McMeniman, and prop Laurie Weekes combined to put impressive fullback Mark McLinden over for his maiden Super 14 try.

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