The ACT Brumbies started the year as one of the Super Rugby title favourites, boasting an all-star roster on the field and the office predicting a financial turnaround and $1 million profit.

Instead, the Brumbies are ending the year filling holes after the departure of key players, chief executive and team manager as well as bracing for the departure of coach Stephen Larkham next year.

The past 12 months will go down as one of the most controversial, and at times bizarre, years in Brumbies history, despite the club winning the Australian conference and making the finals for a fourth consecutive season.

So the next chapter in the Brumbies story could be defining, with rumours swirling about the club's future and whether their long-term existence is in danger.

Larkham will leave the Brumbies at the end of 2017 after announcing on Friday he has committed to a full-time role as Wallabies assistant coach.

His impending departure will be a major hit to the Brumbies' leadership ranks, although he does have one season left to achieve his Super Rugby title goal.

When you add Larkham's exit to that of captain Stephen Moore, David Pocock, Matt Toomua, Joe Tomane, chief executive Michael Jones and team manager Ben Gathercole, the clouds get darker.

The light at the end of the tunnel is that the board is interviewing candidates for the chief executive position and Larkham has one more year to win a title while officials search for his replacement.

All of that has been going on while rumours circulate in the background about proposed changes to Super Rugby and the shaky ground the Brumbies are on.

SANZAAR – Super Rugby's governing body – is sharpening the axe to cut an Australian team from the competition and the Australian Rugby Union will have to deliver the silver bullet to one of its five franchises if changes go ahead.

NSW and Queensland will avoid the fight for survival, while the Melbourne Rebels have a private financial backer.

Assuming those three teams are safe, that leaves the Brumbies – Australia's most successful team – and the financially stricken Western Force in a battle to stay away from the chopping block.

It's easy to assume the Brumbies' rich history and Wallaby production line will win against a Force organisation that needed to be bailed out by the ARU this year.

Having all Australian rugby teams based on the eastern seaboard would save the ARU a significant financial chunk and it is widely believed the Force is the team in the most danger.

But, there is an underlying fear in Canberra rugby circles that a complacent approach will end in disaster and rallying support "in 2018 will be too late" to save the Brumbies.

The Force have already started to garner support by launching a "join us on the journey to becoming a better Super Rugby team" this week.

The Perth rugby community can see the writing on the wall and they know they're going to have to fight for their future if, as expected, Super Rugby changes its format.

The same urgency isn't being felt in Canberra. Yet.

The threat of the axe falling on the Brumbies is very real if the rugby community doesn't stand as one behind the club on and off the field.

Canberra crowd numbers dropped this year despite the Brumbies making the finals for a fourth consecutive season, scoring 11 more tries than 2015 and winning the Australian conference.

The end decision will likely come down to dollars and cents, although history and past success has to play some sort of role.

The Force have access to the Perth marketplace and a timeslot that suits South African broadcasters, as well as doubling as a travel stop-over for teams.

The landscape of Australian rugby has changed and moves are being made to fix the broken financial model.

A lot of things were broken at the Brumbies this year. Some relationships remain fractured and there is still a wedge in the Canberra rugby community.

Jones predicted an ugly war before a very public falling out with the board, and a drawn out saga in the ACT Supreme Court.

But the changes to the playing roster and Larkham's decision to leave are part of the rugby cycle.

Moore is at Queensland, Toomua is in England, Pocock is taking a sabbatical and Christian Lealiifano has leukaemia.

Lealiifano, an inspirational leader, will have a bone-marrow transplant in Melbourne next week.

Larkham's decision came after burning the candle at both ends for two years and he wants to lead the team to a title next year.

Larkham was the man who held things together in a tough year. Now others have to step up around him.