Red hot Queensland have two delicious incentives to trump old rivals NSW in their Super Rugby clash in Brisbane after streaking ahead at the top of the Australian Conference.

The rampaging Reds recorded a sixth straight victory, their equal longest winning streak in the professional era, with a captivating performance in Saturday's 39-30 home conquest of defending champion Bulls.

With NSW crashing 31-17 to the Blues in Auckland, Queensland (35 points) hold a handy Australian Conference lead over NSW (27) prior to their clash at Suncorp Stadium.

The Reds also lead the overall ladder from New Zealand Conference front runners the Crusaders (35), who scored a 34-16 win over the Chiefs (16) at Waikato Stadium.

Spearheading the South African challenge are the Stormers (33), who bounced back from last weekend's home loss to Queensland with a 33-19 victory over the Lions (9) at Ellis Park.

A victory over NSW would not only avenge the Reds' sole defeat of the season, but give them a stranglehold on the Conference leadership, effectively putting them three wins clear of NSW, with under half of the competition to go.

The Reds' only remaining offshore assignments are against the two New Zealand stragglers, the Hurricanes (18) and the Chiefs (16).

Conversely, NSW, who have dropped to seventh, face testing away fixtures against South African teams, the Sharks (29) and Bulls (21).

The faint finals hopes of first-season franchise Melbourne (19) were probably extinguished by a sloppy performance in their 40-18 home loss to the Highlanders (30).

However, the Rebels may have a significant consolation prize in the offing, with Force superstar James O'Connor considering an offer to join fellow Wallabies star Kurtley Beale in Melbourne for next season.

O'Connor scored 15 points as the Force (16) enjoyed their first win in Australia this season with a 27-19 victory over the Brumbies (17) in Canberra on Sunday.

On Saturday, the Reds scored six tries to three against the Bulls, with fullback Luke Morahan crossing twice from well worked scrum moves.

Queensland coach Ewen McKenzie was well aware of the need for his side to perform much better against NSW than in their 30-6 loss to the Waratahs in Sydney back in round two.

"We're in reasonable shape going into it but we've got to get that one right, we did a poor job last time," McKenzie said.

In Auckland, NSW conceded five first-half tries against the Blues before outscoring them 10-0 after the break.

Acting skipper Dean Mumm recognised it would be difficult for his side to overhaul the Reds if they lose in Brisbane.

"If we do go down in this it certainly makes it very hard going forward in the competition and the Reds become even further ahead in terms of that conference system," lock Mumm said.

In Melbourne, the Rebels paid the price for some atrocious defending, with at least two Highlanders brushing off multiple attempted tackles on their way to the try line.

Defence obviously wasn't a priority in Bloemfontein, with 11 tries scored in the Hurricanes' 50-47 win over the Cheetahs (11).

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