But few sides could hope to finish a top of the table clash without their top four prop forwards and live to tell the tale of triumph. Ultimately Jordan Petaia and James O'Connor combined to drive a dagger into the ACT Brumbies' hearts.

With their four leading props finishing the night on the sideline through suspension and injury, the Brumbies fell 40-38 against the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby AU's top of the table clash in front of 9384 at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.

It seemed as though the Brumbies would orchestrate the great escape when Issak Fines-Leleiwasa scored on the wing and Ryan Lonergan struck truly, but Petaia collected a Hunter Paisami grubber to score with two minutes left before O'Connor added the extras.

Next week's bye could not come at a better time for the Brumbies, with starting props Scott Sio and Tom Ross coming from the field with injuries to join Allan Alaalatoa and James Slipper on the sidelines.

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Sio came from the park in the 46^th minute with his right arm wrapped in his jersey. Ross was helped off with his left knee strapped two minutes later. It was the turning point, with Queensland adding 24 points after Ross had left the park.

Even stand-in skipper Tom Cusack finished the game with ice on his shoulder after leaving the field in pain during the second half.

Already gone from McKellar's starting XV was captain Alaalatoa, serving the first of a three-game suspension. Behind Ross on the bench was debutant Archer Holz who 10 months ago was a chubby kid who "wasn't anywhere near" a Shute Shield debut for Eastern Suburbs.

But after 48 minutes on the bench, he suddenly emerged as the answer at tighthead prop. Harry Lloyd was in the hot seat at loosehead, putting the third-ranked props in the firing line.

Because gone were 100 Tests worth of experience with an MCL strain confining Slipper to a knee brace on the sideline, then Sio was gone. It left Lloyd as the man to fill the void in the scrum against Reds enforcer Taniela Tupou.

The club's depth is being tested so dearly scrum coach Dan Palmer might be in line for a call-up, though he jokes there is no way you could convince him to lace up the boots one more time.

"I might have to pull out the Adidas French Caps and throw them on. Laurie [Fisher] can dust his off," McKellar said.

"We'll see how they pull up. Slips is progressing nicely, we've got some wounded front-rowers there. It looks like Rossy has tweaked a medial, Scotty has a bump on his elbow. They were key losses because we were probably dominant at the scrum up until that point in time but the picture changed.

"With the scrum momentum changing, it's not on the front-rowers. There are eight people in one scrum, everyone has got to play their role, and they managed to get some dominance there through Taniela."

With the prop stocks ripped apart around him, so much attention was drawn towards returning Brumbies hooker Folau Fainga'a.

So he rose to the occasion with two tries while his deputy Lachlan Lonergan waited for his chance on the pine, with Connal McInerney glued to the couch at home following surgery on a broken fibula this week.

Those dreams of a famous victory from a club that once thrived on a reputation of being misfits and rejects were alive from the opening exchanges as the Brumbies chased a ninth consecutive win over the Reds on home soil.

Pete Samu danced down the touchline to score the first try of the night, and Fainga'a soon charged over from the back of a maul, Lolesio struck truly, and the Reds were starring down the barrel of a 17-point deficit inside 15 minutes.

But Brad Thorn's outfit is far too classy to roll over, stripping the lead back in a 78-point thriller.

"We were pretty wounded towards the end there. First and foremost, I thought it was a great contest, it would be nice to be a fan sitting in the stands tonight as a neutral, because that's what rugby needs, 78 points, five tries to four," McKellar said.

"A really strong rivalry is developing between us and the Reds, I know it's always been there, but between these two teams in particular. They're playing with a really positive mindset, we're obviously doing the same, and I thought [referee] Nic Berry was outstanding in managing the game.

"There's a lot to like about it from a fan point of view. No doubt we'll play the Reds a couple more times this year I would imagine. There's plenty to like for rugby union."

The Brumbies took a 24-16 lead into the break. But the Reds could smell blood in the water when the home side's front-row stocks took a beating, running in three late tries to snap the Brumbies' unbeaten run and set up a tantalising race to the minor premiership.

"It was obviously a good feeling, we hadn't won here in seven years. It's always a tough game down this way, my days as a Bronco and a Crusader were no different," Thorn said.

"The guys came from 17-0 down, we like to make it hard on ourselves. Hunter backed himself to execute that grubber and with Jordie there you saw a Wallaby combination go to work

"What you notice is the Brumbies don't go away. The Brumbies, this time last year, won this game from a kick at goal at the end.

"Being able to be in a position when you can have home finals ... to be able to have a home final will be an important thing. I'm sure the Brumbies feel the same way."

AT A GLANCE

Super Rugby AU round four: QUEENSLAND REDS 40 (Suliasi Vunivalu, Taniela Tupou, Harry Wilson, Jordan Petaia tries; James O'Connor 4 conversions; O'Connor 4 penalties) bt ACT BRUMBIES 38 (Pete Samu 2, Folau Fainga'a 2, Issak Fines-Leleiwasa tries; Noah Lolesio 4 conversions, Ryan Lonergan conversion; Lolesio penalty) at Canberra Stadium. Crowd: 9384.