The Brumbies want to bring the glory days back to Canberra by turning Canberra Stadium back into the "fortress" it once was when they play their rival Waratahs this weekend.

The Brumbies want at least 20 000 Super Rugby fans to let the Waratahs know who's home stadium it is.

Jake White's Brumbies want the fans to front up as they have done on the field as they lead the Australian Conference and a win this weekend will push them a lot closer to their first finals campaign since 2004.

The last time the 27,000 seater Canberra Stadium sold out was back in 2005 when the Waratahs visited and the last time the stadium had more than 20,000 was against the Waratahs in 2009.

Brumbies Chief Executive Andrew Fagan says that the passion and flair the players had shown this year should bring back the Brumbies faithful fans back.

"I know the players have been throwing 20,000 around as the number that they would like to see out there .... if we get the 20,000 it would be wonderful to see at Canberra Stadium again," Fagan told WA Today.

"On the field the guys are playing with the passion and pride that their members and supporters want to see and hopefully that's reflected in the supporter base that we're able to generate and hopefully that starts this weekend against the Waratahs with a big crowd.

"I don't think there's a game on the calendar that we've had that's as significant as this one in the last few years .... you've got two teams that will both be desperate to win, it's pretty clear that this is a crunch game.

"We want to ensure that we can turn Canberra Stadium back into the fortress that it once was and all of those that have turned up to any games this year have seen that the guys have played with an enormous passion."