With Lima Sopoaga in Italy as part of the New Zealand under-20 team looking to defend its World Junior Championships title, someone will have to come into the side to fill the all important No 10 jersey.
The obvious contenders appear to be veteran Tony Brown and Southland utility Robbie Robinson, although Highlanders assistant coach Simon Culhane said yesterday reserve halfback Smith was also a candidate.
"He is an option there and he has some experience in that position. He brings a lot of energy to the game and can see a game very well," Culhane said.
"He will be a good option if we are chasing the game and Jimmy [Cowan] is going well then he could be a really good attacking threat."
Smith is more likely to come off the bench, because if Brown or Robinson do not start, the Highlanders will not have a recognised goal kicker to begin the game.
But racking up three pointers has not been a strength of the side this season and the coaching staff may decide on a more attacking outfit.
Brown is fit and available, fully over his hamstring injury, while Robinson has been inconsistent this year and has been confined to the bench for the past month.
The Highlanders trained at Carisbrook yesterday morning in a change of routine and venue as the coaching staff tried to mix things up in the dying embers of a long season.
The team was still training regularly, but Culhane said the coaching staff was mindful of not overloading the players at this time of year and trainings may be shortened.
Culhane said the side wanted to finish the season well and maintain integrity as a team.
"We're not out of the playoffs and mathematically we can still make it. But once you start having to rely on other teams winning and performing then you are not in a good position."
This being his first year coaching at this level, he could not comment on whether the season appeared longer, but said the bye just over two weeks ago came at a welcome time.
"We were struggling there with playing the same group of players and felt the bye would have freshened everyone up. We thought fatigue might be an issue, but it is mental fatigue rather than physical fatigue."
No front-line players are unavailable this week due to injury, apart from long-term casualties such as Colin Slade and James Paterson. Prop David Te Moana will not be sighted again this season as he gets over a niggling calf injury.
Reviewing the close loss to the Force, Culhane said the team played well for an hour but then went into its shell and tried to hang on.
A repeat of that against the Waratahs would not work, he said.
"We ceased to play, really, against the Force and they simply ground us down. We can't afford to go out there against the Waratahs and try to hang in there for 80 minutes. It simply won't work."
Culhane said the Waratahs were going to be absolutely desperate for points, still being in playoff contention, and with Wallaby jumpers at stake.
Waratahs lock Kane Douglas is out of the match after he was suspended for two weeks because of a dangerous tackle in last week's loss against the Bulls.
The Highlanders do not have a great record in Sydney and it took until 2004 for the side to win in New South Wales.
In the 15 meetings between the sides since the franchise-based competition started, the Highlanders have only won four times, though they did win the match between the two sides in Invercargill last year.
