The usually vaunted Brumbies find themselves in the rare position of being at the bottom of Australia's Super Rugby pecking order, where the beefed up Rebels and resurgent Reds are making the early running.
For the last two years, the Brumbies have been Australia's sole playoff team.
But after a hard earned first-up win over the Sunwolves in Tokyo, the Canberra-based franchise (four points) have suffered away losses to the Reds and Rebels.
Pacesetting Melbourne (15) notched another franchise landmark on Friday with their 33-10 win over the Brumbies at AAMI Park giving them three consecutive victories for the first time.
Queensland (8) also had a feat to to celebrate, after a 20-14 home win over the Bulls gave them successive Super Rugby wins for the first time in almost four years.
The Rebels, who picked up a dozen of the culled Western Force's players, can complete an early season sweep of their three Australian rivals by beating the Waratahs in Sydney next Sunday.
NSW (6) had their unbeaten start to the season shattered by a 38-28 loss to the previously winless Jaguares in Buenos Aires, where they trailed 26-0 after conceding four tries in the first quarter.
In Melbourne, the Rebels scored five tries to two, but only led 14-10 before crossing three times after Brumbies prop Leslie Leuluaialii-Makin was sin-binned in the 62nd minute.
The Brumbies finally get to play their 2018 home opener against the Sharks on Saturday, as part of a stretch of three straight game in Canberra during a period in which they also have a bye.
"We've been on the road for a long period of time and we're looking forward to getting home and playing in front of our fans and continuing to improve," Brumbies' coach Dan McKellar said.
The Brumbies could however be without some significant forwards, as lock Sam Carter (concussion) and hooker Josh Mann-Rea (hamstring) were first-half casualties in Melbourne.
At Suncorp Stadium, the Reds piled on 17 straight points to overturn an 11-point deficit, with Caleb Timu and Aidan Toua scoring tries.
"We're on a journey ... but if you'd have told me three games in, you'd have a win over the Brumbies and Bulls, I'd be pretty happy about that," Reds' coach Brad Thorn said.
Defending champions the Crusaders suffered their first loss, with a 29-19 defeat by the Hurricanes, marking their fifth straight reverse in that city.
Both teams are one point ahead in the New Zealand conference of the 2-0 Highlanders, who beat the Stormers 33-15 in Dunedin.
The Lions still lead the South African conference, despite being shaded 38-35 in Johannesburg by the Blues.
The Sharks notched their first win of the campaign with a seven try, 50-22 victory over the Sunwolves in Durban.
