ACT Brumby Luke Reimer thought his season was over two weeks ago when he felt a "pop" in his knee.
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The words "medial crucial ligament tear" were circling the flanker, but it's that false alarm that means he will not take the No.7 jersey for granted come Saturday.
The 22-year-old is set for his third Super Rugby Pacific start during the home quarter-final against the Wellington Hurricanes.
He said his knee was "feeling alright" after his week on the sidelines.
"It wasn't as bad as we thought initially, but it's pulled up pretty good and I'm feeling pretty confident about it," he said.
"I felt a pop and it didn't feel too good ... I was a bit worried, but I came in the day after and got the good news."
The feeling around the Brumbies camp was admittedly "off" against Moana Pasifika, but Reimer said the lure of a Canberra Stadium homecoming was lifting the squad.
They had a lighter training week heading into their shock 10-point loss but have ramped up their intensity in preparation for the Hurricanes.
Pinpointing pressure on breakdowns and completing tackles are the areas they have been targeting, to recreate their round 11 42-25 performance against the Kiwi side.
"The boys are humming," Reimer said.
"We knew we weren't up to scratch [against Moana] and hopefully we can turn that around."
MORE ACT BRUMBIES NEWS:
Brumbies lock Cadeyrn Neville knows the pain of injury woes well himself.
Neville missed all of the trans-Tasman fixtures last season due to a shoulder injury, before reinjuring it in the first game this year.
Following his return in round 10, earning his spot in six games since, he is ready to grab the finals opportunity with both hands against the Hurricanes.
"You can probably look [at it] that I'm not quite as season-weary as maybe some of the others. So hopefully this is a time where I can make a bit more of a difference," Neville said.
"It's do-or-die, so there's no point leaving anything out there. [The Hurricanes] are traditionally pretty hard to get a handle of. They're one of those teams that you never really know what you're gonna get.
"We're gonna take them on that front, like we did last time. We've had a bit more time to develop that, we should believe in it."
The Brumbies have not won a game since Rob Valetini's hamstring injury, and will be without him again this weekend.
But both Reimer and Neville agreed with their coach, Dan McKellar, and said they could get it done this time, especially with Tom Hooper filling the void.
"We've definitely missed [Valetini] in our attack but we've got such good depth," Reimer said.
"So we're pretty confident in the players who can step up for the job and we've proven that."
"Not only is [Hooper] big and physical, he gets through an abnormal amount of work," Neville added.
"That can be hard to notice from the stands but ... that's where you miss him. So it's great to have him."
Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final
ACT Brumbies v Wellington Hurricanes - Saturday at Canberra Stadium, 7.45pm.
Brumbies team: 1. James Slipper, 2. Folau Fainga'a, 3. Allan Alaalatoa (C), 4. Darcy Swain, 5. Cadeyrn Neville, 6. Tom Hooper, 7. Luke Reimer, 8. Pete Samu, 9. Nic White, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Andy Muirhead, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Len Ikitau, 14. Tom Wright, 15. Tom Banks. Reserves: 16. Lachlan Lonergan, 17. Scott Sio, 18. Sefo Kautai, 19. Nick Frost, 20. Rory Scott, 21. Jahrome Brown, 22. Ryan Lonergan 23. Ollie Sapsford.
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