Coach Clayton McMillan said Moana Pasifika have been impressive all year.
"They've taken a big step forward and have knocked over heavyweight teams, and you couldn't help but be impressed last week by their performance against the Blues.
"They have a good, intelligent kicking game, work hard for each other defensively, and have a sound set-piece. They can launch from all areas. They can defend the deep defensive lines and challenge you.
"They are a well-balanced, well-coached team getting rewarded for all their effort.
"Ardie Savea's performance was phenomenal. It's hard to read a paper, jump on a phone without reading some article about the bloke. It was an inspirational performance, one of many this year.
"We knew we were playing Moana Pasifika and to see them play well against the quality outfit has definitely got us on notice. Our week reflects the challenges coming."
McMillan said Savea wasn't the only one who posed threats to opponents, and the Chiefs would not be narrowing their focus to contain one person because doing that would see them stung elsewhere.
"We respect what they bring to the table with the results they've had. They know what is on the line for them this week, just as we do. It all points towards a pretty awesome game."
The Chiefs were part of the growth in confidence Moana Pasifika had after their first game when, despite being down 7-43 at halftime, they came back with a vengeance to lose 35-50, scoring 28 points to seven in the second half.
"It gave them a bit of belief and injected some certainty in how they want to play their game, not so much in the first half when we had everything our way, but once they got direct and had their fair share of ball and played in the right parts of the field, they were hard to stop.
"You don't want to give them too much momentum. We'll have ways to manage that in our favour, but first and foremost, you've got to respect them.
McMillan said loose forward Wallace Sititi's signing renewal this week was critical for the Chiefs and New Zealand.
"He's always had the talent, he just had to develop good pro habits understanding what's required to operate at the highest level of the game and once the penny dropped then his talent became obvious."