Surprised captain James Slipper believes a final trial success over a star-studded Chiefs outfit will give Queensland a major springboard into the Super Rugby season.

The 2011 champions will clash with the 2012 champions when the Reds line up against the Waikato-based side at Sunshine Coast’s Stockland Stadium on Friday night.

Queensland enjoyed a 41-35 pre-season win over the Blues in Toowoomba last weekend but Slipper said defeating the Chiefs would be a better barometer to the Reds’ form heading into round one.

The Chiefs will be at near full strength and feature All Blacks Aaron Cruden, Brodie Retallick, Sam Cane and Liam Messam.

“We’re talking about the defending champions and they have a lot of class right across their team,” the 34-Test Wallabies prop said. “A win will definitely put us in good stead for the season.”

Slipper has emerged as a left-field captaincy candidate for the Super Rugby season-opener against the Brumbies in Canberra on Saturday week after taking the reins from injured skipper James Horwill against the Chiefs.

It appears the 23-year-old and centre Anthony Faingaa are the frontrunners for the job if Horwill can’t recover from an ankle injury he suffered in training on Tuesday.

Faingaa, who led the Reds against the Blues, will miss the second trial with a hand injury but director of coaching Ewen McKenzie says Slipper is a genuine captaincy contender.

“He plays from in front and he leads by example,” McKenzie said.

“He had a great season in 2012, he finished with player’s player (Stan Pilecki Medal) so there’s no reason we can’t grow him in other capacities.”

Slipper, who captained The Southport School to a Queensland GPS premiership in 2007, said McKenzie’s choice was a massive shock.

“It’s a pretty big deal for me,” he said. “It’s a huge honour.

“I’ve never really thought about being a captain.”