Seemingly a forgotten man in Wallabies conversations, Simone was absent from Dave Rennie's 40-man squad for a planning camp in the coming weeks.

The Brumbies inside centre admitted he was "gutted" when Rennie opted for Lalakai Foketi, Hunter Paisami, Izaia Perese and Len Ikitau as centre options.

Rennie picked 15 Brumbies in the group - the most of any Super Rugby franchise - but Simone and prop Scott Sio were notable omissions.

But rather than dwell on what he'll miss in terms of Wallabies logistics, Simone is channelling his energy into proving why he deserves to be there.

That starts with the clash against the Western Force in Perth on Friday night, and the Brumbies might need to lean on him more than usual with an injury cloud hovering over playmaker Noah Lolesio.

If Lolesio (ankle) is ruled out when the team is named on Wednesday, relative Super Rugby newcomer Rod Iona will be thrust into the No. 10 jersey.

Iona has played Tests for Samoa and has been in and out of the Brumbies' set up for almost a decade, but he has just five Super Rugby caps.

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That's why Simone, who played two Tests for the Wallabies in 2020, looms as a crucial cog in ensuring there's a seamless transition as the Brumbies aim to keep their unbeaten streak alive.

"To be honest, I am pretty gutted," Simone said of his Wallabies omission.

"But that's out of my hands. All I can do is focus on where I can get better as a person and a team player.

"My priority is the Brumbies and I am gutted, but my focus is on the Force.

"Rod's a totally different player to Noah. I need to take a bit of pressure off him when he needs it, that's my role and if he gets the opportunity he'll do the job for us."

The Brumbies will fly to Perth on Wednesday ahead of what will be just their second away game in the first six rounds of the competition.

Coach Dan McKellar is weighing up whether to rush Lolesio's recovery for the trip west, or giving Iona a chance to take the chief playmaker reins.

"They're both slow," Simone grinned. "Rod's off the cuff and plays what's in front of him. They're both exciting and Rod brings a lot of experience. An older head, he backs himself and he's not shy to try things."

The Brumbies are also juggling the workload of their forwards after a draining battle against Queensland last weekend, with McKellar keen to rotate as much as possible with an eye on end of year results.

"We just weren't accurate [against the Reds]," said back-rower Rob Valetini.

"There was a lot of lost ball and [accuracy] was a big part of why we were sloppy.

"The Force are going to have a lot of possession this week, we have to find ways to try to get the ball back through our defence. There's a lot of room for improvement."

SUPER RUGBY ROUND 6

Friday: Western Force v ACT Brumbies at Perth, 10pm.

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