The ACT Brumbies and Crusaders have produced some of Super Rugby's greatest ever contests - and with finals placings on the line, winger Andy Muirhead expects another bruising encounter when the sides meet on Friday night.
Both sides come into the game in red-hot form, having both won four of their last five matches.
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The Crusaders previously held a 12-match winning streak over their rivals that stretched all the way back to 2009 - before a last-gasp result in Canberra saw the Brumbies finally break that streak in 2024.
However, with a top two finish the prize for the winner this Friday, Muirhead admitted the Brumbies have had their eye on this fixture for the past several weeks.
"We've pinpointed this a couple of weeks ago, that a result this weekend puts us in a good position to finish top two," Muirhead said to reporters on Monday.
"We want to be a team that plays good footy at home and we know what the Crusaders bring.
"We've had some really good battles here at GIO with them. We're looking forward to Friday night and hopefully getting a good result and keeping our record at home."
The Brumbies will have the benefit of coming off the bye, with the players refreshed from a weekend break.
However, Muirhead has revealed that the coaching staff have taken a more intensive approach compared to previous bye periods.
"We learned a couple of years ago that if we took the week off and didn't do much training, we were a little bit rusty," Muirhead added.
"We had some two really big sessions last week and that got the rust out. We've had two good sessions to start this week off.
"The boys' bodies are feeling a lot better than it would after six games on the trot."
Despite the Brumbies having conceded more losses than last season, the side finds itself with an opportunity to finish in the top two for the first time since 2004 - when they last won the title.
"I think [if] you look at the last two years, we haven't been far off the pace and we've made some really good steps in particular parts of our game," Muirhead said.
"To get a good win at home this weekend is going to put us in good stead to put our hand up for a title. We're taking it week by week.
"We know this game this weekend is essentially another final for us and where we want to end up at the end of the season. (The) boys are in a good mindset, we know what works well for us.
"They're a very physical pack, competing most facets of the game, breakdown and obviously their outside backs are quite electric.
"We're going to have our hands full in the majority of parts of the field. If we can defend well and defend as a unit like we have been in patches of games, we know we'll give it a red hot crack to have a good win."
The Brumbies will be bolstered by the potential return of Noah Lolesio, however veteran Allan Alaalatoa won't be back until at least the finals with the Wallaby still recovering from a calf injury during their win over the Reds.
Despite the Highlanders coming close to beating the Crusaders in Christchurch last week, Muirhead knows the Brumbies will not be underestimating their Trans-Tasman counterparts.
"The Highlanders gave them a good run, but sort of mentally before their game started, it didn't really matter what that result was," Muirhead said.
"It comes down to this weekend and how we perform. It would have been nice if they got knocked off last week, but it probably meant they had a bit of a harder training week.
"They're a team with a lot of titles under their belt, the Canberra climate and weather is quite similar to Christchurch, being over there a couple of times.
"I feel like they'll feel right at home, and we've got a big job to do on Friday night."
