Knowing they face a Reds side on the rebound from their loss to the Highlanders, it will need to be a quick fix for the Super Rugby Aotearoa champions before they fly to Brisbane.
Coach Scott Robertson said: "They're great on Queensland soil aren't they? I think we learnt a lot from the Brumbies that will help us next week."
Twenty re-set scrums in the first half prevented the Crusaders from getting their desired rhythm, and they were unable to throw a knockout punch.
He added that he couldn't repeat the comments scrum coach Jason Ryan made in the coaches' box, but it was probably similar to what fans in the crowd were saying, or thinking.
It was frustrating because the Crusaders had spent their week of preparation being up and consistent.
"We haven't collapsed a scrum all year, I think. That's frustrating, the boys admitted they were a little bit frustrated, we were all frustrated, and that just didn't allow us to get our rhythm," he said.
Robertson was unwilling to use the fact they were affected by their final success a week earlier. Despite their frustrations, they had still managed to play some good rugby in patches.
They were up 31-17 with five tries to two with 14 minutes left, and they were still in a position to take a bonus-point win only to end the game looking down the barrel of a draw.
"We just weren't polished enough. We wanted to make a good statement, especially with what Codie [Taylor] has done with his 100 games. We couldn't land a punch or a combination of them.
"Fair play to them, they [the Brumbies] stuck in there. It just shows why they held on to the trophy for 83 minutes last week, and then let it go in the last part. They're not far away," he said.
"We knew they were going to be tough, we just couldn't put them away."
Robertson said bonus points were critical in the competition that was a sprint as the 10 teams looked to be the two standing at the end.