The side had the bye over the weekend and, as a result, dropped down the competition ladder.
The team was sitting in fifth place before the weekend's games but is now in seventh place with the Crusaders and Hurricanes going ahead of them.
The Highlanders, though, are handily placed and know their overall position at the end of the season will come down to the games involving New Zealand teams.
The southern franchise faces three Kiwi teams in its next five games.
It will play the Sharks at Forsyth Barr Stadium this Friday and then travel to Invercargill to take on the Brumbies on April 30.
It then has the three derby games which will have a big bearing on its season.
With all New Zealand sides clocking up wins against other teams with relative ease - three from three again in the weekend - the final places in the table for the New Zealand sides will come down to which teams come out victorious when they face each other.
The Highlanders have six derby games all up for the season and have only played two of them so far for a loss against the Blues and a win against the Hurricanes.
The Highlanders will take on the Chiefs in Hamilton on May 7 and then meet the Crusaders under the roof on May 13.
The team will then have a bye before journeying to Wellington to take on the Hurricanes on May 27.
The competition then goes into hibernation for more than a month for the June test window.
The Highlanders by then may well know what their destiny is for the season.
The team will be looking to hit the ground running on Friday night against a Sharks side which is strong defensively but lacks a bit on attack.
The franchise will want to welcome back All Black winger Waisake Naholo, who was aiming to return for the game against the Sharks.
However, he may want to get a club game for Harbour under his belt before playing for the Highlanders, having played just one competitive game so far this year.
The side should also have co-captain Ben Smith and loose forward Elliot Dixon back to face the Sharks.
Dixon and Smith missed the last game - a disappointing loss to the Reds - because of a gash to the head while Smith was not cleared after a concussion the previous week.
The credibility of the competition took another blow on the weekend when the winless Sunwolves were beaten 92-17 by a Cheetahs team which had only won one game before the weekend romp.
The Sunwolves remain winless and face the Jaguares on Saturday in what it may eye as a chance to get a win.
In other games, the Hurricanes won 38-13 over the Rebels, the Blues beat the Sharks 23-18, the Brumbies downed the Waratahs 26-20, the Bulls defeated the Reds 41-22 and the Lions edged the Stormers 29-22.
