'Desperate to stay on': Brumbies keen to ramp up Alaalatoa's minutes

The Brumbies tighthead prop came through unscathed in a 40-minute shift during a thrilling win over the previously unbeaten Hurricanes at Canberra Stadium on Saturday.

Now Brumbies coach Stephen Larkham is pondering his plans for Alaalatoa, who spent nine months on the sideline, on the road to the Super Rugby Pacific finals.

"He's normally one that struggles to come off the field. He's desperate to stay on the field for as long as he can," Larkham said.

"Go back a couple of years and he was regularly playing 75, 80 minutes. He understood that was enough time [against the Hurricanes]. He felt really good, but it was enough time to prepare him for the back end of the season.

"[We'll] see how he recovers first. There's nothing flagging at the moment, but you have to wait 24 hours after a game and see how he pulls up. We'll come in on Monday, we'll go through our review process.

"At this stage, we'll try and get a bit of continuity in his game, we'll try and keep playing him. In terms of is he starting, is he going 40 minutes, or is he going 50 or 60 - we'll make that decision week to week."

The emergence of Ryan Lonergan as a genuine leader - having retained the captaincy in Alaalatoa's return - provides scope for the veteran prop to prioritise his own comeback without the extra responsibility of captaincy.

Lonergan says Alaalatoa's return - couple with the comebacks of Andy Muirhead and Len Ikitau - played a crucial role in the Brumbies reversing a nightmare result in Auckland to stun the ladder leaders.

"In a week where we wanted to show up and have that mindset to bring the physicality, they're perfect to come back, particularly led by Allan," Lonergan said.

"It was like he hadn't really missed a beat, he was straight back into it. [The win] shows us we can do it, now it's about being able to consistently do it, consistently show up and bring that edge.

"We spoke about the two losses we've had this season and how we weren't there, weren't even close to it. Now it's about trying to replicate the week we've had and keep that rolling forward into the back end."

The third-placed Brumbies are already monitoring injured trio Corey Toole [ankle], Blake Schoupp [shoulder] and Len Ikitau [head knock] following the Hurricanes game.

Larkham is hopeful they will be fit for a clash with the Fijian Drua at Canberra Stadium on Saturday.