Super Rugby officials and club chief executives have been meeting in Sydney this week to discuss the future of the revamped competition.

One option being tabled is reducing the amount of teams, which could involve cutting one of the five Australian franchises in a 16-team format.

It would allow the ARU to consolidate its talent, but Abel, who was in the Western Force system before linking with the Brumbies, believes future Wallabies will be lost to overseas clubs.

It is unclear which Australian team, if any, would be cut, but the Force, Melbourne Rebels and Brumbies are all feeling the financial pinch.

Abel said the players must be the priority to ensure the future of the game.

"I'd hate to see blokes lose their livelihood because a team gets cut," Abel said.

"I've got a lot of friends in teams and guys are providing for their families through rugby.

"I don't know if they're going to cut a team ... maybe it will push even more blokes overseas and maybe that's not the answer we're looking for."

The Brumbies are continuing their search for a new chief executive, with interviews taking place in October.

The Brumbies will report a financial loss at the end of the year but officials are confident the club is on stable ground after a turbulent period off the field.

SANZAAR – Super Rugby's governing body – has brought together executives from teams in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Japan and Argentina to discuss the future of its premier competition.

Some New Zealand officials are pushing for a change to the finals system that sees home play-offs allocated based on conference winners rather than ladder positions.

New Zealand sides dominated the regular season this year and four of their teams won more games than Australia's best team, the Brumbies.

But the Brumbies played their first finals match in Canberra because they were the Australian conference winner, despite finishing nine points behind opponents the Otago Highlanders.

The broadcast deal looms as a major stumbling block to New Zealand's push for a merit-based finals system because of television requirements in different time zones.

SANZAAR is working with Accenture on a strategic review of the Super Rugby structure.

SANZAAR boss Andy Marinos said: "It was also the perfect time to update everyone on the strategic plan that has the aim of mapping out the long-term future of SANZAAR by examining three core areas: the structure of competitions; the commercial structure; and the governance model."

Abel used the National Rugby Championship season to win a Brumbies contract last year and hopes this year's campaign will help him earn more Super Rugby game time.

Abel will compete with Josh Mann-Rea and Saia Faingaa for the hooker duties when the 2017 Super Rugby season begins.

"I want to push and develop my game so that next year I can earn a lot more game time," Abel said.

"I can't look too far to next year, I have to play well for the Vikings and approach every game like it's Super Rugby. Hopefully the results flow on from there."

NRC ROUND FOUR

Sunday: Canberra Vikings v Western Sydney Rams at Viking Park, 1pm.