Queensland coach Les Kiss has claimed underdog status in Saturday's all-important ACT derby after adding three more Wallabies to his growing injury list.
The Reds were outclassed by Stephen Larkham's Brumbies in Round 9, letting a 14-0 lead slip as the Brumbies ran out 39-26 victors at Suncorp Stadium.
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Now, Queensland will have to flip the script in Canberra without Lukhan Salakaia-Loto (shoulder), Seru Uru (knee) and Tom Lynagh (HIA), who join a casualty ward already featuring Test skippers Harry Wilson and Liam Wright.
Speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Kiss lavished praise on the second-placed Brumbies but backed his injury-ravaged side to front up following a cheeky jab from former Red Tuaina Taii Tualima.
"I know they’re tough there (in Canberra). They should be bullish, they should be confident," Kiss said of the second-placed Brumbies.
"They did on a job on the Force last week and they certainly have a lot of reason to be positive about where they are ... (but) we have guys who can step up into the breach for sure.
"I think John Bryant’s really come into his own recently, Joe Brial’s been a force. Fraser (McReight) on the weekend was imperious...Josh Canham’s getting better and better.
"We’re slowly getting back to some really good qualities in our game for 80 minutes and it’d be nice to go there and get the money."
One man with a key role to play is Queensland winger Lachie Anderson, who scored last week's 78th minute match-winner against NSW and now faces an all-star Brumbies back-three including Tom Wright, Corey Toole and Andy Muirhead on home soil.
"I think everyone knows going down to Canberra against a good Brumbies side is a tough place to win," Anderson told reporters in Brisbane.
"(We're) coming off a good win against the Tahs and we're looking to keep that momentum and keep stacking those positives into another huge 80 minutes for us.
"We're at the pointy end of the season now where all points are up for grabs and every one matters, it can determine where you finish and where you play your finals footy so we're really excited."
