Australia winger Drew Mitchell expects Thursday's inter-squad trial to reach Test-match intensity as players battle it out for a place on the upcoming end-of-season tour.

Coach Robbie Deans will trim his extended 43-man squad to a final touring party of 35 on Friday, with the simulated game to decide who's in and who's out.

The match is open to the public and will be played at Sydney's St Ignatius College, with a collection to be taken to raise money for the Pacific Islands Tsunami Relief fund.

Players were divided into teams at Tuesday's session ahead of the clash and will complete preparations as rival outfits.

"It should be good and if the last two days of training are any indication it's going to be pretty confrontational," Mitchell said.

"The last two training days have probably been the most competitive we've had in the last two seasons so the boys are pretty much ready to rip into each other and I guess put their foot forward to possible selection for this spring tour.

"It's going to be a fantastic session out there and if anyone's in the area it wouldn't be too bad a one to come down and watch."

He admits there is a definite edge in the air as players prepare to go head to head.

"Not so much sledging it's more just silence at the moment," he said when asked if the banter had already begun.

"You find that the guys who you're opposing on Thursday might just walk past and give you a bit of a glance and won't say too much.

"Although we're a squad at the moment we're two teams essentially, we're training together as two teams and looking to go at each other on Thursday."

Mitchell, who will line-up on the left wing, can expect to mark either Digby Ioane or Peter Hynes.

Ioane, who missed the entire domestic Test season after undergoing reconstructive surgery in May, trained strongly throughout Tuesday's session but is no certainty to take part in the match.

"It's been 20 weeks (since surgery) and I'm just glad to be out there running again," said Ioane, who admits he's not guaranteed to be fit for the tour opener against the All Blacks in Tokyo on October 31.

"Last week I did my first contact and everything's looking good but I haven't actually done full contact 100 per cent so I've got a long way to go but I've got to race time.

"I'm just going to leave it to the doctors and see what happens if I can do contact or not - I wouldn't mind doing contact but I've got to look after myself as well."

Meanwhile, Stirling Mortlock, Hynes, Phil Waugh, Rocky Elsom, Rob Horne, Sekope Kepu, Ben Robinson, Nick Cummins and James Horwill are all in some doubt for the trial match after sitting out Tuesday's session.