On the record, Brumbies' coach Andy Friend is taking a "wait and see" approach to the potential line-up for next week's blockbuster Super 14 clash against the Waratahs.

But given Friday night's cruel 23-13 home loss against the Hurricanes, and Friend's own admission the current structure "wasn't working", he's unintentionally hinted at some substantial changes.

The injury-depleted Brumbies put their finals campaign on shaky ground with the defeat, which pre-game, loomed as a possible catapult into top four contention.

Post-siren - and after a second half plagued by penalties - Friend conceded something must be done to tackle the squad's inherent lack of discipline.

"If you want to do things solo and not work as a team, that's a big issue," he said.

"What we're currently doing isn't working.

"It's been the story of our season that one, we get into that attacking zone and we're just not team-enough and collective enough to get the ball across the line.

"It's something that has plagued us all year and continued to plague us tonight."

Friend refused to blame injuries for the team's current predicament, although the loss of Stirling Mortlock, Josh Valentine and Matt Toomua, among others, hasn't helped.

Coming off last week's 61-15 walloping over the Cheetahs, he said the Hurricanes' loss was a sobering reminder of what intensity is needed in the dying stages of the season.

Friend wants his players to treat every game from here on out - including Saturday's clash against the Waratahs - as must-win.

"Every game now becomes a final - that's the nature of this competition," he said.

"Hurricanes had that tonight, that became theirs."

The pivotal match was always going to be a test of finals mettle, but while the Brumbies will be ruing their self-assessment, the Hurricanes are rejoicing in it.

The victory has turned the tables on their past five weeks, in which the Hurricanes have gone without a win - close to a club record.

But not only did they keep their finals campaign intact, the win has Hurricanes' coach Colin Cooper believing they're hitting their straps after flying under the radar.

"The media have sort of given up on us and to be fair, we didn't deserve to be seen in their eyes, but we always knew ourselves," he told AAP.

"I always knew we were better than the last five games.

"We've only lost the last three by four points so we weren't far away.

"We've got a lot of confidence and belief in ourselves and to travel to Canberra and beat the Brumbies at home ... there's no saying where we might go."

They take on the Highlanders in Dunedin on Saturday.

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