Canberra has finished fifth at the first three legs of the tournament and is desperate to force its way into the major placings before the season ends.

But player unavailability and injuries have forced Grimmond into a massive shake-up, calling on new talent to rise up the overall standings.

Regan Hart has won a late call up after Ema Masi suffered a head knock at training earlier this week, while skipper Sammie Wood is unavailable for this weekend.

"We've got a tough [job] this weekend, we've got several girls away with exams and weddings so it's going to be hard," Grimmond said.

"But we've got a squad that's strong enough. Hopefully we can do some good things. We're sitting fourth on the ladder, we're coming together. But it just comes down to one or two percenters [in sevens].

"We feel we're up there with the top three or four and our depth is getting better because we're exposing more and more players to this top level."

United States import Abby Gustaitis has returned home to join the national side and Kasey Dragisic, Kiara Meredith-Brown, Georgia O'Neill and Darcy Read are also out of action.

That means Paremo Marsh will take on the captaincy duties and a host of players get their chance to impress Grimmond.

"We've got a new team travelling, but we're lucky with our depth," said scrumhalf Jane Garraway.

"It's been a good season for us going off the end of last year, the girls have really stood up and have been more prepared.

"It has been a little bit frustrating losing tight games that have cost us, but I'm sure this weekend we can get that top four finish if we put our minds to it."

University of Canberra squad: Tania Afamasaga, Kirra Burke, Shelley Bradshaw, Ngawai Eyles, Jane Garraway, Regan Hart, Jess Howard, Michaela Leonard, Paremo Marsh, Claudia Obst, Tayla Stanford, Breanna Toze.