Rugged Queenslander Hugh McMeniman has demanded the Reds find a ruthless streak as they attempt to overturn a terrible Super 14 record in New Zealand on Friday night.

Queensland meet an All Blacks-laden Hurricanes outfit in Wellington looking for a second straight victory that would send a clearer message of intent to fans and rivals.

The 2007 wooden-spooners enjoyed a heartening 22-16 first-up win over the unfancied Highlanders but were far from satisfied with their scrappy performance after leading 12-0 in the opening 20 minutes.

After making a habit of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in the past three seasons, McMeniman felt the Reds showed too many of their bad old traits before holding on for the win.

The Wallabies skyscraper admitted too often Queensland teams had gone into their shell when ahead and failed to finish off teams.

"We definitely let them back into it on the weekend which wasn't good and there was that bad feeling it (a loss) might have happened again," he said.

"We have to get over that and stop doing that. We were all over them in the first 20 minutes as we seem to have been in the last two years anyway and we just let the pressure off after that.

"Other teams think we just have to play out the 80 minutes and we'll win."

New coach Phil Mooney has addressed the issue and wants to see his side deliver the knockout punch that leading sides the Crusaders and Blues regularly do to put away teams.

McMeniman said the Reds needed to be more "switched on" and committed to their patterns rather than being concerned about the scoreboard.

"We're more trying to defend the lead rather than make a greater lead," said the lock turned flanker.

"We've been talking about it a lot and hopefully it doesn't happen from now on, we're going to try and pile on the points."

Queensland will be pleased fine weather is forecast on Friday at the Westpac Stadium "Cake Tin" as the pumped-up Hurricanes, bagged by the local media, look to bounce back from Saturday's 20-3 loss to the NSW Waratahs.

The Reds have an abysmal record away to Kiwis sides, winning just once on NZ soil in their last 20 matches dating back eight years.

Pleased by their ability to sneak home against the resurgent Highlanders, McMeniman believes the maturing Reds pack had otherwise learned the lessons of the past.

He said they also wanted the Hurricanes scalp to prove Mooney's pre-season goal of a play-off finish was justified.

"There's more experience, everyone has got cooler heads and everyone understands you don't have to do it yourself and stupid penalties are a thing of the past which have hampered us in past years," he said.

"People are sharing the workload.

"All the boys have been hanging out for this game, we want to get the ball rolling again."

Mooney, who wants an improved effort in the scrums and lineouts, has the option of calling exciting playmaker Quade Cooper off the bench to make a second-half impact.

"Our set piece has to be better and our attack needs to be more clinical and we have to be far more disciplined in terms of penalties," he said.

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