The loss of the Super Rugby captaincy to Dane Haylett-Petty could be a win for the Melbourne Rebels, with star lock Coleman saying it meant he could focus more on his own role.
There was plenty of speculation last Super Rugby season that the captaincy affected Coleman's general play and curbed his natural confrontational instincts.
Ahead of Friday night's clash with the Brumbies at AAMI Park, Coleman said there was an upside to losing the official duties.
"I still have my role in the team and that hasn't really changed at all," the 27-year-old said.
"Not having the captaincy lets me focus on myself - I have a lot more narrow focus in terms of getting my body right and enjoying my football rather than having the broader focus of the team's performance."
Coleman will make his first start of the season after injuring his calf during a Wallabies training camp in January and the Test lock put the Brumbies on notice that he's preparing to take out eight weeks of frustration
He made a statement coming off the bench in Melbourne's last round win over the Highlanders and intended to do the same this week as the Rebels look to book their second victory over the Brumbies in a month.
"It was really good to get out of rehab and I was really excited to play some rugby as my last game was last year on the Wallabies spring tour," Coleman said.
"The injury was frustrating as I'd put in a lot of work in my pre-season and in my holidays so to miss four weeks of running was a pain but I'm back on track now."
While he missed their seven-point win in Canberra, Coleman said he expected both teams to step things up.
"The first round was always going to be a bit scrappy as teams test out their systems - we know they're going to be a different beast and we are going to have to take it up another level," Coleman said.
The Rebels are unbeaten in their two games while the Brumbies are coming off a heavy loss to the Hurricanes.
Brumbies coach Dan McKellar said his team needed to improve their urgency to end the Rebels' three-game winning streak against them.
"They (the Rebels) have been a tough opposition for the Brumbies from day one," McKellar said.
"That doesn't play a role on Friday night and we just have to front up.
"We were off with some urgency last week and it's fine lines in this competition."
Rebels: Dane Haylett-Petty (capt), Jack Maddocks, Tom English, Billy Meakes, Marika Koroibete, Quade Cooper, Will Genia, Isi Naisarani, Brad Wilkin, Rob Leota, Matt Philip, Adam Coleman, Sam Talakai, Robbie Abel, Matt Gibbon. Res: Anaru Rangi, Tetera Faulkner, Jermaine Ainsley, Luke Jones, Ross Haylett-Petty, Richard Hardwick, Michael Ruru, Reece Hodge.
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