An ill wind has blown no good for Queensland all week and the Reds are preparing for the worst gale of all on Saturday.

Torrential rain and high winds are forecast for North Harbour Stadium when the Super 14 battlers attempt to erase a horror last-start loss with a breakthrough win over the All Black-laden Blues.

There could never be a better time for Queensland to end a three-year, 20-game winless streak on the road with a rare New Zealand victory.

The embarrassing 31-20 upset loss to the lowly Johannesburg-based Lions put the Reds back to square one and prompted a hail of criticism.

Coach Phil Mooney has praised his players' collective response since a Monday crisis meeting but the timing of the loss against a team down to 13 men with the game in the balance couldn't have been worse.

Not only did it come as the Reds were hoping to lure Drew Mitchell and Richard Brown back home from the Western Force, it also heightened fears they may lose Wallabies Digby Ioane and Hugh McMeniman to overseas clubs.

Ioane and McMeniman are understood to be keen to remain with Queensland but their futures depend on negotiations with the Australian Rugby Union.

The key duo have told the QRU they will wait until the end of the Super 14 before making a decision, just like team leaders Berrick Barnes and James Horwill.

High-performance manager Ben Whitaker denied the retention of the priority signings hinged on the results in a tough final four rounds and didn't believe the Lions' loss affected their intentions.

"The people who know best about how we're travelling are those guys and they're adamant the team can get better and they will," Whitaker said.

The Reds' challenge to master the wild conditions against the star-studded Aucklanders was epitomised by Barnes' kicking efforts at training at the exposed Albany ground on Friday morning.

"Berrick was literally smashing them (goal kicks) into the wind from 15m out and they were just dropping over," Mooney said.

"Then he kicked one unopposed from inside our 22 and it went dead in the other in-goal kicking into the wind.

"The wind obviously has a massive impact on everything - the set piece, the kicking and then you throw in the rain and it could be one of those games when you have to graft and grind."

The Reds had some success running into the wind first a fortnight ago against the Highlanders in Invercargill, holding a 12-10 lead at half-time before narrowly losing, and may prefer again to keep the ball in hand in the first half.

The fifth-placed Blues have rested All Black forwards Keven Mealamu and Jerome Kaino by starting them on the bench but have denied they are taking the visitors easy.

"We're not taking the game for granted," Mealamu said. "I've had a few niggles and it's just a chance for me to ... freshen up."

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