Hurricanes star Dane Coles has weighed in on the widely maligned Super Rugby Pacific playoff structure, calling for a reduction in the number of teams advancing to the knockout stages.
The tournament format allows a whopping eight of the 12 teams to qualify for the quarter-finals, a majority that has copped plenty of criticism.
The Highlanders have become the prime example for its detractors, with the southerners clinching a postseason berth on the back of just four wins from their 14 games.
Speaking from Canberra, where his team is preparing for their quarter-final showdown with the Brumbies, Coles says the competition would be better suited to a six-team playoff, where the top two sides are granted a bye.
"Yeah, it would be nice to have top six," he said. "None of us can control how they do the top eight or the top six… but maybe, looking forward, you want to look at it a bit differently.
"I know the 'Landers boys are pretty keen to get stuck into the Blues, so fair credit to them - they'll turn up and play - but that's out of my pay packet, to restructure the comp."
Of more immediate concern for Coles and his teammates is their own playoff fate in Saturday's match against the Brumbies.
With the squad ravaged by the flu over the past fortnight, the Hurricanes will finally be back to full strength, with the contingent who missed last week's trip to Perth to play the Force - namely Jordie Barrett, Isaia Walker-Leawere, Tyrel Lomax, Ruben Love and Julian Savea - all rejoining the team in the Australian capital and available for selection.
They'll take on a wounded Brumbies outfit, who will enter the match off three straight losses. Two of those have come on home soil, albeit against competition frontrunners Blues and Crusaders, while the Hurricanes themselves will be fresh off a loss to the Force.
Hurricanes assistant coach Chris Gibbes expects a stern backlash in front of a loud GIO Stadium on Saturday night, as both teams put their seasons on the line.
"They're a quality outfit," said Gibbes. "They're stacked full of Wallabies and they've got a game that works for them that they've stuck with for the last wee while, and it's got good results for them.
"They'll be learning from those losses and, like us, focusing on these next 80 minutes. It's a pretty parochial crowd and the weather's going to play its part as well, so there's a few factors in there.
"We can't control any of that. What we can control is how we prepare, and the mindset and attitude we bring to this game, and then us executing under pressure."
Join us at 9:45pm Saturday for live updates of the Brumbies v Hurricanes Super Rugby Pacific playoff
