Luke Reimer wasn't a finisher - the modern term for a bench player - he was a game changer.
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The ACT Brumbies flanker came off the bench to almost single-handedly stop a Fijian Drua onslaught - both with and without the ball.
Reimer scored a try and produced two crucial turnovers as the Drua were on the charge as the Brumbies clung on for a 28-20 victory in wet conditions at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.
"[He was] massive. And it's probably no surprise. He's been doing that throughout the year, last year as well, he does that at training," Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa said.
"He just reminded me of his stats there - he got three turnovers and a try.
"I said, 'He probably needed one more in the second half', but he was massive."
Brumbies outside centre Len Ikitau scored a brace as they held on against a spirited Drua side, who had plenty of support in the stands.
The win could've come at a cost though with James Slipper forced off the field in the first half with a back injury.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham said the next 24-48 hours would determine if Slipper would be available to face the NSW Waratahs at the Sydney Football Stadium next Saturday.
"He's sore. It's just his lower back, which happens in the front row," Larkham said.
"He actually hurt it in the warm up and played through it for most of that first half.
"Particularly around scrum time it was quite difficult.
"He's sore. We'll see in the next 24-48 hours how he pulls up. He couldn't have gone back on the field as you saw.
"We had to put Sefo [Kautai] on ... and I thought he did a pretty good job there.
"Slipps' leadership around the paddock, not just with his words, but his actions were pretty phenomenal for this team so we'll be doing everything we can to get him back out on the paddock."
Ill discipline almost proved costly for the home side as they gave away a number of penalties, which resulted in Brumbies prop Harry Vella spending 10 minutes in the sin bin.
Canberra product Liam Bowron came off the bench to make his Super Rugby debut with 20 minutes to go, executing a number of high-pressure lineouts in the closing stages.
He drew high praise from Larkham for his efforts, with the Brumbies coach labelling it an "amazing game".
The Brumbies' first points came off the back of their trademark rolling maul, with Wallaby Ikitau scoring the first of his tries.
With a new Wallabies coach around, Noah Lolesio's looking to re-stake his Wallabies credentials having fallen out of favour with the past two.
He showed what he's capable of with time and space, sending a lovely kick to wide-open winger Andy Muirhead - with Brumbies captain Allan Alaalatoa crashing over.
The Fijians were a constant threat, much to the delight of a vocal group of supporters in the stands who exploded with every piece of Drua fancy footwork.
They should've had a try when they created a four-on-one overlap - only for openside flanker Kitione Salawa to send his pass across the sideline.
The Drua scrum might've been dominating, but the Brumbies' rolling maul was as well.
Ikitau's second try was off some brilliant play - first a massive driving maul before his centre partner Tamati Tua put in a lovely grubber to run onto.
While the maul had been fruitful for the Brumbies, it also cost them with Drua lock Isoa Nasilasila finishing off one to make it 21-10 just before half-time.
The visitors came straight of the sheds and bombed another try - this time Drua scrumhalf Peni Matawalu lost the ball in the putdown after charging over off the back of another dominant scrum.
No sooner had Vella been sent to the sin bin and the already dominant Drua scrum was creating points again.
Fijian scrumhalf Simione Kuruvoli crossed with the Brumbies' backs against the wall.
But then up stepped Reimer to finish - and change - the game.
Not happy with simply stopping momentum thanks to his pilfers, Reimer then went up the other end to score and seal it.
"They had the bulk of possession and territory throughout the game and they certainly played well," Larkham said of the Drua.
"But on the other side I thought our guys defended exceptionally well - multiple, multiple passages there we were under a lot of pressure and mistake on mistake, penalty on penalty.
"We didn't help ourselves, but we managed to find a way."
AT A GLANCE
ACT BRUMBIES 28 (Len Ikitau 2, Allan Alaalatoa, Luke Reimer tries; Noah Lolesio 4 cons) bt FIJIAN DRUA 20 (Isoa Nasilasila, Simione Kuruvoli tries; Isaiah Armstrong-Ravula 2 cons; Armstrong-Ravula 2 pens) at Canberra Stadium. Referee: Nic Berry.