The ACT Brumbies are hopeful prop Allan Alaalatoa will play again this year, but the anchor of the scrum is set to miss a crucial clash against the Wellington Hurricanes this weekend.
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Alaalatoa and co-captain Sam Carter have been ruled out of the game at Canberra Stadium, with the Brumbies to take a cautious approach with their respective ankle and back problems.
Alaalatoa has a grade one syndesmosis strain after an accidental collision at Wallabies training earlier this month and Carter has been struggling to overcome pain in his back.
It his hoped Alaalatoa will be fit to play against the Waikato Chiefs in Hamilton next week, but Brumbies staff are unsure if he will be ready to make the trip to New Zealand.
Alaalatoa and Carter's absence will force the Brumbies into a forward-pack reshuffle when the Super Rugby campaign restarts on Saturday night.
The Hurricanes are expected to make changes as well, with the international window and Test series against France taking a toll on some of their key players.
The Brumbies haven't beaten a New Zealand side since they toppled the Hurricanes in the first game of the 2016 campaign and they lost two matches against the Wellington side last year.
But Carter believes the Brumbies can capitalise on a re-jigged attacking game plan to help them snap their Kiwi losing run.
The Brumbies have already scored more tries this year than they did in the regular season last year and they have three more games to break the attacking shackles.
The Brumbies scored 41 tries in 15 games last year, but have already passed that mark with 43 tries from 13 games. They can also equal their 2017 win tally if they beat the Hurricanes.
The Brumbies found their attacking groove in the three weeks before the mid-year break, scoring a combined 15 tries against the Johannesburg Lions, Pretoria Bulls and Japan Sunwolves.
"It's not too much about the Hurricanes this week ... you only get a limited amount of opportunities against them so we need to make sure we take them," Carter said.
"You don't get many opportunities against the Hurricanes or Kiwi teams. We have to make sure we're right on our game. There will be chances, we just have to be good enough to take them.
"The last time we played the Hurricanes at home, we went down in a final. So you don't need extra motivation for this one."
McKellar is likely to stick with back-line combinations after their impressive form before the month-long Super Rugby hiatus.
Inside centre Kyle Godwin said a better understanding of the structures has helped them "click" in attack.
"I'm not too sure why. It's [the ability] been there all along this year, but it's now starting to click," Godwin said.
"We're getting to the way we want to play and we're understanding it. We're getting to know the shape and that's helping everyone do their role."
SUPER RUGBY ROUND 17
Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Wellington Hurricanes at Canberra Stadium, 7.45pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
