Joe Powell is set to take over at halfback for the Brumbies as new faces vie to fill the vacuum left by the departure of a slew of experienced players from their Super Rugby squad.
With Argentine international halfback Tomas Cubelli to miss the majority of the season, Powell is tipped to wear the No.9 jersey against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday night.
"I think Joey Powell has been a stand out through the pre-season for me and a little bit last year," Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham told AAP.
"He's got a little bit of Super Rugby experience so he's probably the front-runner there."
Larkham said 18-year-old Ryan Lonergan and new signing Dewet Roos, who was unveiled at Brumbies headquarters on Tuesday, were also vying for selection.
Roos, 26, joined the club on Sunday with more than 100 first-grade games in Sydney under his belt but Larkham admitted it would be difficult for him to slot straight in at halfback.
"It's very tough to pick everything up in two days but he's in contention for selection," Larkham said.
Picking Powell's halves partner has come down to the wire with Nick Jooste recovering from a quad injury in time to push newcomer Wharenui Hawera for selection.
Former captain Stephen Moore left for the Reds in the off-season with Saia Fainga'a returning to the Brumbies to contest the hooker position with Josh Mann-Rea and Robbie Abel.
"Robbie Abel got his first touch of Super Rugby with us last year and is keen to get more," Larkham said.
"Bongo (Mann-Rea) has been around for a while and was the understudy to Stephen Moore last year and Saia's got international experience as well as a lot of Super Rugby caps.
"There's plenty of experience there so out of those three, we're probably strong with options."
Understandably for the Brumbies, filling the giant hole Wallabies back-rower David Pocock has created by going on sabbatical is proving hard.
Larkham said former Western Force flanker Chris Alcock, Jarrad Butler and Jordan Smiler were most likely to slot into the back row, but Tom Cusack and Rob Valentini had also trained impressively.
"That was a position we struggled with over the weekend to come up with a selection this week," Larkham said.
"There's some disappointed guys but they know it's a long season."
The Brumbies leave for New Zealand on Thursday, when the team will be announced.
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