Having learnt from his infamous Origin send off to “stay neutral” before big games, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has played down the prospect of a feisty rematch with Australian-raised Lions rival Sione Tuipulotu in the opening Test at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday.

Suaalii was centre stage for the opening day of Test week in Brisbane on Monday as a 30-strong media pack crammed into a room for his press conference at the Wallabies team hotel.

The Wallabies’ prize recruit covered territory from his “weird” pre-game routine, his rap career, the form of the Roosters and fellow convert Mark Nawaqanitawase to bold predictions of a “3-0″ Test series sweep by the Lions in the next three weeks.

Suaalii spoke openly about most topics but gave short shrift to a potential battle with Tuipulotu, who the 21-year-old had a heated clash with at Murrayfield in the Wallabies’ loss to Scotland in November.

It began with Suaalii thumping the former Junior Wallaby and Melbourne Rebel with a big tackle, but he was injured in the collision. Tuipulotu then sledged Suaalii and the pair had to be separated before Suaalii left the field.

Suaalii was heard to say on the referee’s microphone: “See you next time”.

Asked on Monday what had been said and if he was looking forward to renewing acquaintances with Tuipulotu, Suallii said: “What happens on the field stays on the field”.

“I’m ready to go, ready to play,” he said. “Not too much to say about that.

“It’s all about us. I always focus on myself first before I put my energy into someone else.

“Obviously, the fans and you [media] want to see a rivalry and all that, but at the end of the day, it’s a team sport. I just want to do the best for the team.”

Sione Tuipulotu is hammered by Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii at Murrayfield.

Tuipulotu has been asked to recount the confrontation several times on podcasts, but told the Kick Ons and Kick Offs pod that he had to stop, on the advice of a shared acquaintance.

“I know Eoin Toolan, who is the analyst at the Wallabies, and he used to be our analyst at Melbourne. He’s told me to stop talking on these podcasts about Joey, cause he says he’s raring to go. I don’t want to put any targets on my back from big Joey.”

Suaalii confirmed he’d heard a few things about the Edinburgh episode.

Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii signs autographs for fans after playing Fiji in Newcastle.

“There’s been a lot of recounting of that day,” he said. “I feel like there’s been a lot of talk around that moment. At the end of the day, like I said, it’s a game of footy. Whatever’s still on the field stays on the field.”

Sitting next to Suaalii with a grin, Wallabies lock Will Skelton said he’d enjoy a rematch.

“That’s what you want, no?” Skelton said. “You want our 12s going against the 12s; you want our 13s going against the 13s. I think no matter what, it’s going to be a physical battle ...”

The odds of a fired-up Suaalii aiming for round two with Tuipulotu may not be as high as fans would hope, however, after the five-Test centre also spoke about learning from his Origin experience to keep his cool before big games.

Playing for NSW in State of Origin last year, Suaalii was sent off for a high tackle on Queensland fullback Reece Walsh. He said he’d grown from the moment.

“The biggest thing I learned was my off-field [approach]; the way I was leading into that week,” he said. “It taught me a lot about myself leading into these big games.

“It’s just about being neutral, not being too high or too low, or not playing the game before playing it. I think that was my biggest lesson from that game. Obviously, these games are going to be big, but we’re just focused on today’s training session leading into the game on Saturday.”

Suaalii gave Maro Itoje a tough afternoon at the restarts in Australia’s win over England at Twickenham last year, and the Lions captain said he expects the Wallabies to use the aerial attack again in Brisbane.

Lions captain Maro Itoje warms up.

They have a good kicking game and good threats in the air, and so do we,” Itoje said. “It is going to be one of the areas of battle throughout the game. Especially with the rule changes of last year.”

Skelton, who missed the Wallabies’ clash with Fiji in Newcastle with a calf injury, said he was hopeful he would play against the Lions on Saturday.

“It felt a bit tight leading into that Fiji game, so we didn’t want to take any risks,” he said. “But, no, I trained with the team on Saturday and we’re rearing to go.”

He said Rob Valetini was on track, after also missing the Fiji Test with a calf injury, but there remains some doubt about both big men being part of the first Test side.

The Wallabies said they had noted comments made by Henry Pollock about the Lions aiming to win “3-0” in the Test series, but Itoje defended his teammate, saying they and the Wallabies would always aim to win every game.

“That’s the ambition ... it would be a bit weird if one of my teammates said, ‘We want to win two but lose one’,” he said.

Lions officials were also quick to deny they were cheapening the jersey after calling in a batch of players as training cover, and probably to play against the Indigenous and Pasifika team next week in Melbourne. Three Scottish players – Darcy Graham, Rory Sutherland and Ewan Ashman – have come from New Zealand, and young Irish prop Thomas Clarkson has also flown in, and will fly home after the second Test.

Similar moves on previous tours have been controversial for creating a different tier of Lions player.

The First Nations and Pasifika squad was released on Monday, made up of 20 players of Pasifika heritage and seven of First Nations heritage. Two Fijian Drua players are in the squad.

All matches of The British & Irish Lions Tour to Australia are live & on demand on Stan Sport, with Wallabies Tests in 4K. All Test matches live and free on Channel 9 & 9Now.