Super Rugby entertainers Queensland aim to return to their high-octane roots after bringing in the heavy artillery for Saturday night's semi-final against the Blues.

With a sell-out crowd of 52,000 expected at Suncorp Stadium, coach Ewen McKenzie has emphasised the Reds' desire to triumph through their attacking flair in what shapes as a frenetic sudden-death encounter.

McKenzie on Thursday bolstered his table-topping outfit by recalling strike trio Digby Ioane, Anthony Fainga'a and Beau Robinson from injury and also returning game-breaker Radike Samo to No.8.

The only forced change in five alterations to the team which ground out a 19-11 last-round win over the Chiefs at a wet Waikato Stadium was the promotion of Greg Holmes for injured scrum anchor James Slipper.

Since overcoming the competition favourite Crusaders 17-16 in an epic May 29 victory, the injury-hit Reds have shelved the razzle-dazzle in tight tussles against the Brumbies, Western Force and Chiefs.

But with his key troops back and Brisbane's showers expected to subside for a dry track on Saturday night, McKenzie had little thought for play-off conservatism and predicted both sides would produce their natural high-tempo games.

"We've been extremely impressed with the way our squad has handled the absence of some of our regulars, but you need strike power and experience to win big games and we have that returning in spades on Saturday night," McKenzie said.

"It's a big game but it's a big game that's got a chance to be a big spectacle.

"We want people to turn up and be excited.

"They will run the ball in those conditions and so will we, so it should make for a good occasion."

The tactics have seen McKenzie opt for an extra forward on his bench, making room for rising star Liam Gill alongside fellow young back-rower Jake Schatz, in a 5-2 split that may force the likes of Samo or Scott Higginbotham to cover positions out wide.

"On a dry track, the Blues are quite a difficult team," he said.

"We need mobility and we've got that, some of our forwards can pinch hit in the backs anyway."

Both sides showed their attacking enthusiasm in their round 13 battle when the Reds jumped out to a 24-0 lead after 31 minutes but were pegged back to 27-24 before prevailing 37-31 in an eight-try classic.

Former Wallabies loosehead prop Holmes missed that game, when the Blues scrum dominated the second half, with an elbow infection and the workhorse is determined to rise to the challenge in a rare start at tighthead.

McKenzie, himself a 51-Test prop, has been so impressed by the 28-year-old's development on the other side of the front-row that he preferred him to specialist No.3 Guy Shepherdson and tipped Holmes to revive his 13-Test career after four years out in the cold.

"The occasion is not going to worry him, the coach said.

"I don't think he's a spent force in Australian rugby by any stretch and he's proving that week-in, week-out as an impact player and now he gets the opportunity to prove it as a starting player.

"If you were 28 in France or South Africa you would be just starting your career."

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