The ACT Brumbies will name their team on Thursday, with Hansen waiting for a call to join the starting side if regular fullback Tom Banks is ruled out.

Banks has been on minimal training duties for almost a month after injuring his foot during the COVID-19 hiatus, halting his hopes of staking his claim for the Wallabies' No. 15 jersey. But Brumbies coach Dan McKellar has backed Hansen, a Canberra junior, to rise to the occasion against a star-studded Melbourne Rebels' back line.

Hansen made his debut against the NSW Waratahs in March last year, getting on the field for a four-minute cameo in front of a packed crowd. This time he'll run out in the Super Rugby AU restart with 1500 in the stands and McKellar says he's ready if needed.

"If Banksy's not right to go, we'll go with Mack Hansen," McKellar said. "He's been in our program for a number of years now, he's come through our pathways and at Gungahlin and Daramalan.

"He got five minutes off the bench against the Tahs last year and it would be nice for him. If he does get an opportunity, he's ready.

"That's important when you put young players, you want to make sure they're ready to perform at this level and don't expose them when they're not ready. But Mack is definitely ready."

McKellar will finalise his selections on Thursday morning, with wing spots and back-row positions the most hotly contested in the squad.

Solomona Kata has been battling a niggling hamstring complaint as he battles with Andy Muirhead and Tom Wright for wing selection.

Pete Samu, Rob Valetini, Tom Cusack, Lachlan McCaffrey, Will Miller and Jahrome Brown are compete for three back-row spots, while Ben Hyne is set to make his comeback as the back-up lock.

Reserve scrumhalf Ryan Lonergan has been ruled out with an ankle injury, paving the way for Issac Fines to make his Super Rugby debut from the bench.

"[The internal trial] last week helped from a selection point of view and getting the guys some match intensity," McKellar said.

The restarted season will go ahead without any distractions after the Rugby Union Players Association and Rugby Australia finalised an interim pay deal for the new competition.

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Australian players will get 70 per cent of their salaries, match payments and bonuses until the end of September.

Rugby Australia boss Rob Clarke said: "Australians all around the country are currently facing an incredibly difficult economic environment and rugby is certainly no different.

"The professional players have acknowledged the important role they play in ensuring the future health of rugby in Australia and I thank them for their cooperation throughout this negotiation, to ensure the competition starts this coming Friday night."

The Melbourne Rebels have been based in Canberra since last week after having to relocate their entire squad because of a coronavirus spike in Victoria.

"It hasn't been too hard ... this break we've had, sometimes it takes something being taken away from you to realise how much you miss doing what we do," said Rebels skipper Dane Haylett-Petty.

"We definitely had a bigger focus this season on building every week ... Hopefully we can pick up where we left off. [We want to show] how much the fans mean to us. This first round ... with the rivalry with the Brumbies, you'll see a lot of intensity and a whole lot of feeling in it."

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Friday: Queensland Reds v NSW Waratahs at Brisbane, 7.05pm

Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Melbourne Rebels at Canberra, 7.15pm. Both games live on Fox Sports