The ACT Brumbies face a double superstar showdown when Sonny Bill Williams and Wallabies legend George Smith come to Canberra and attempt to ruin their Super Rugby dreams next year.
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But the Canberra club are set to miss out on hosting their biggest rival, the NSW Waratahs, in the 2017 season as part of a scheduling change up in the alternating SANZAAR fixtures.
Super Rugby officials will publish the draw on Tuesday morning with the Brumbies to begin their campaign on the road against the Canterbury Crusaders in February.
The Brumbies play the Durban Sharks, Western Force, Otago Highlanders, Queensland Reds, Auckland Blues, Johannesburg Lions and Melbourne Rebels at home.
Their South African road trip is a brutal two-weeks on the road, first playing the Southern Kings in South Africa before making their first trip to Argentina to play the Jaguares in Buenos Aires.
The Brumbies fell short in their title quest this year, losing to the Highlanders in a home final at Canberra Stadium in August.
The Crusaders opener will give them an immediate indication of their redemption prospects as they come to grips with life after Stephen Moore, Matt Toomua, Joseph Tomane and David Pocock.
It also remains unclear whether skipper Christian Lealiifano will be able to play next year as he continues chemotherapy to treat leukaemia.
The Brumbies have played the Waratahs every year in Canberra since a Super Rugby overhaul in 2011 and the match is the club's biggest drawcard for fans and revenue driver.
However, the alternating system that replaced an Australian home-and-away series means that the Brumbies will play the Waratahs just once next year and the game will be in Sydney.
The Brumbies and Waratahs have been Australia's best two teams for the past three years and only playing them once could open the door for more regular season wins.
The Waratahs fixture in the capital will be replaced by the return of Brumbies champion Smith as he begins his stint at the Queensland Reds.
Smith, a 10-time Brumbies best and fairest winner, will join Moore at the Reds and will return to Canberra to plot the ACT franchise's demise next year.
The Brumbies will also get a chance to host cross-code star Williams when he restarts his Super Rugby career with the Auckland Blues.
Williams tore his Achilles tendon while playing for the New Zealand sevens team at the Rio Olympic Games last month.
Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham has re-signed with the club for at least the next 12 months and is back in Canberra in between Wallabies Tests.
The bulk of the Brumbies squad is playing for the Canberra Vikings in the National Rugby Championships and are fighting to impress Larkham to win Super Rugby game time.
Robbie Coleman has emerged as a potential playmaker option if Lealiifano is unable to take his place in the team next year.
But the versatile Queanbeyan junior is struggling to see out of his left eye after a head clash on Sunday left him with a nasty gash and 15 stitches.
Coleman collided with a Western Sydney Rams player and had blood pouring from his face as he left the field.
By the time he woke up on Monday, his eye had completely swollen over and he was unable to see.
"But at this stage I'm still available to play [against Melbourne Rising on Sunday]. We've just got to see how the swelling goes down," Coleman said.
"I kind of loaded up for a big hit and it was head on head. The cut's not in the most fortunate place, it's a shoe-horn cut where it starts above the eyelid to the bottom of it.
"They put about four or five local anaesthetic needles into the cut. When I open my eye it pushes against the swelling and it's uncomfortable. Not painful, just taking time to get used to having one eye. I'll see the doc on Tuesday and see what happens."
The full Brumbies draw will be published on Tuesday morning with SANZAAR officials still weighing up the long-term structure of the at-times confusing competition.
NRC ROUND 5
Sunday: Canberra Vikings v Melbourne Rising at Viking Park, 1pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
BRUMBIES 2017 DRAW
Rd 1, February 25: Canterbury Crusaders v Brumbies venue TBA in New Zealand
Rd 2, March 4: Brumbies v Durban Sharks at Canberra Stadium
Rd 3, March 10: Brumbies v Western Force at Canberra Stadium
Rd 4, March 18: NSW Waratahs v Brumbies at Allianz Stadium
Rd 5, March 25: Brumbies v Otago Highlanders at Canberra Stadium
Rd 6: Bye
Rd 7, April 8: Brumbies v Queensland Reds at Canberra Stadium
Rd 8, April 15: Melbourne Rebels v Brumbies at AAMI Park, Melbourne
Rd 9, April 21: Wellington Hurricanes v Brumbies venue TBA in New Zealand
Rd 10, April 30: Brumbies v Auckland Blues at Canberra Stadium
Rd 11: Bye
Rd 12, May 12: Brumbies v Johannesburg Lions at Canberra Stadium
Rd 13, May 20: Southern Kings v Brumbies at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
Rd 14, May 27: Argentina Jaguares v Brumbies at Valez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires
Rd 15, June 3: Brumbies v Melbourne Rebels at Canberra Stadium
Rd 16, July 7: Queensland Reds v Brumbies at Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Rd 17, July 15: Waikato Chiefs v Brumbies at venue TBA in New Zealand
Super Rugby finals: July 21-August 5
