'We've been playing together since high school' - Kerevi hoping Reds' centre pairing will flourish

Samu Kerevi believes his passing game can flourish alongside longtime friend Chris Feauai-Sautia in the Queensland Reds midfield in 2019.

The pair started for the Reds but were kept under wraps in a 21-19 preseason loss to the Chiefs at Ballymore on Friday night.

Kerevi and Feauai-Sautia offer similar styles of play and look set to work in tandem once their regular season campaign kicks off when they meet the Highlanders in New Zealand on February 22.

The Reds captain said he had spoken to head coach Brad Thorn about expanding his passing game in order to build on a partnership that has been forged since he and Feauai-Sautia were kids.

"Me and Chris have been playing together since high school, and even before that when we were like eight, nine," Kerevi told AAP.

"We're pretty confident with each other.

"But 100 per cent; Thorny has spoken to me about that (looking to spread the ball more); it's about adding that to the game and sharing that load."

The Reds trailed 14-0 after less than 10 minutes when two Chiefs kicks exposed their defence.

They still had plenty of positives to take away, particularly at scrum time as they worked to level the scores heading into the final 20 minutes of play.

Thorn spoke kindly of his side's scrummaging efforts but lamented a couple of soft tries and highlighted an inability to convert after heaping pressure on the opposition.

Kerevi has asked for his side to slow things down if options don't present themselves instead of risking possession in trying to force something.

"With our attack game flowing we've just got to hold onto that pill," Kerevi said.

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