With a top two finish in the Super Rugby Trans-Tasman series unlikely, the focus for the Brumbies in Saturday's game comes down to respect.
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Captain Allan Alaalatoa said a win in their fixture against the Blues was about respect, with finals hopes likely dashed.
Australian sides sit with a 0-10 tally heading into round three of the series. Alaalatoa said it had been disappointing but they could only control what they did in their camp.
"We spoke about as a team, we can only control what we can control and that's firstly how we prepare as a team and our mentality coming into the game," he said.
"We prepared really well this week and then that mentality to go out there [on Saturday] and to rip in for each other, and go out there and earn the respect that we deserve."
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One aspect the side will focus on, the skipper said, was the Blues' individual ball carriers and their danger on the counter attack.
"There's a lot of individual ball carriers who get a lot of gain line dominance them self and then they back that up with some great skills and great offloads.
"So, I think, for us we've talked a lot defensively about scrambling hard for each other, making sure that our connection is better than it was last week.
"And understanding that their dangerous off broken play ... so that's definitely something that we've addressed this week and it's all about putting that on the field ... for 80 minutes."
The Brumbies kick off against the Blues at Eden Park tonight at 5.15pm AEST.
Isobel Cootes
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
Sports reporter at The Canberra Times. A Novocastrian with a passion for football (or soccer as they call it in the capital) via The Examiner and The Port Lincoln Times.
