But to better the Canberra-based team, the Highlanders must locate their attacking mojo.
The team may be unbeaten, and sitting top of the table, but it has won ugly in the past couple of weeks, by narrow margins.
Captain Jamie Mackintosh said the side needed to start taking its chances and finding the tryline.
"We need to start building our game. A good set piece by the forwards, getting on the front foot, and giving quick dynamic ball," he said.
"That is when the likes of the Hosea Gears and Kade Pokis can do their business. The last couple of weeks we have been holding on to the ball and it has not been very dynamic. It has been pretty simple one-off rugby.
We want to speed up and give some good ball to the backs.
"It is about taking those opportunities which come along and scoring some tries. If we had done that against the Hurricanes, then we would have not been under pressure at the end."
The Highlanders have yet to earn a four-try bonus point but no team in the competition is crossing the tryline with any regularity as defence dominates.
Mackintosh said teams were concentrating on defence, and not conceding penalties.
"The higher the level of rugby, the bigger the tackles then the more pressure they put you under. There is a bit of a theme coming through, in the way teams are fanning out and not really attacking the breakdown.
"That is a little bit different from us. Teams like to defend for a long period of time and back themselves to not be broken."
The Brumbies were picked by many to be the cellar-dwellers of the competition after a clean-out of players from last year.
But they started the competition with two wins before falling to the Chiefs last week.
That loss was a close-run thing and gave a preview of what the Highlanders will expect in Canberra tonight.
World Cup-winning coach Jake White has immediately stamped his mark on the side - with suffocating defence, and forwards crashing the ball up.
They do not give the ball away much, either.
Mackintosh said the Brumbies' patience with the ball meant his side would be in for a battle up front.
"They look to play a lot of field position and do not like playing in their own half. They are very patient with the ball, a lot of direct runners off the nine, and and good with the ball in hand in close quarters."
The Highlanders were messy in their lineout last week and missing the injured Adam Thomson, someone else will have to come forward to win ball.
Much is expected of English international James Haskell in his first start and Andrew Hore is sure to enjoy locking horns with Stephen Moore.
The Highlanders need to get their gamebreakers involved more tonight and stay disciplined in defence.
The Highlanders do not have a great record in Canberra. It was the scene of their biggest loss, back in 1996, and they have not won there since 2006.
The match is to be refereed by South African Lourens van der Merwe, who is making his debut at this level.
