Carter Gordon has missed more Wallabies games than he has played since his return to rugby late last year. And while he has shaken off a calf injury this week, at least enough to take his place on the bench to face Argentina, concerns around his durability are not misplaced.
Ben Donaldson, meanwhile, will start his first Test in 2026 on Sunday morning [AEST] after previously falling right down the pecking order under Joe Schmidt. Donaldson has become Australia's playmaking replacement this season, with varied success.
Declan Meredith is in his first year of Test rugby. His performances to date have been mixed -- at best.
Behind that, Tom Lynagh is likely to play just his second game of the season for Queensland Reds in the upcoming Super Rugby Aus competition and Tane Edmed, despite finishing 2025 as Schmidt's chief playmaker, has almost dropped completely off the Wallabies radar.
Maybe the idea that either James O'Connor or Bernard Foley, at 37 and 38 years of age respectively, can play a role at next year's Rugby World Cup is not so far-fetched after all?
And it may yet be that either of those men, who have four appeared at four separate World Cups between, but never together, ends up being the Wallabies first-choice fly-half when Australia opens the tournament against Hong Kong in Perth in just over 12 months' time.
If fit, then Gordon will be the Wallabies No. 10 at the World Cup next year. It is precisely why Rugby Australia gave him a top-up deal when he had spent the past 12 months in rugby league, most of which was spent recuperating from a spinal fluid leak.
But that remains a big if.
Gordon travelled to Europe last year but managed only one game as he battled a quad injury. He was due to start Australia's final Test of the spring tour, only to be a late scratching on match eve.
In Super Rugby, Gordon played in nine of Queensland's 15 games, missing a month of action with a knee cartilage injury.
When the Nations Championship rolled around in July, Gordon played in only one of Australia's three Tests and then sat out the first game against Japan to ensure the calf injury he picked up against Ireland was 100%.
Kiss played down the seriousness of Gordon's latest calf issue after naming his team to face Argentina in Mendoza, but the Queenslander's continued injury issues don't exactly inspire confidence that he will be there in the gold No. 10 jersey come October next year.
"It's a combination of things there; I definitely wanted to make sure the three 10s had a feel for what we're about with certain changes in our game. I definitely wanted to get that right," Kiss said when asked about Gordon's selection on the bench this weekend.
"There's no niggles with Carter, he just got a big gash in his head. He just had a small calf thing a week or two ago that's not really an issue for him. And just making sure that his exposure grows continually for us; Carter's pretty important to us, for sure."
There is no doubting Gordon's position at the top of Australia's playmaking tree, particularly since he has been relieved of the goal-kicking responsibilities that Ryan Lonergan is now handling so brilliantly.
Gordon's skill set is both a blessing and a curse. His willingness to take the line on and aim up defensively are huge assets for the Wallabies on both sides of the ball. He is the closest thing Australia have had to Stephen Larkham since the World Cup winner's retirement.
But at what cost?
Three years ago in France, a 38-year-old Jonny Sexton took Ireland to the World Cup quarterfinals before they were beaten by eventual runners-up New Zealand in one of the greatest games the tournament has ever seen.
Sexton, who finished his career with 124 Test caps, sits alongside Brian O'Driscoll and Paul O'Connell as Ireland's greatest modern day players. He was also a part of the British and Irish Lions' 2-1 triumph in Australia in 2013.
The way Sexton would control Ireland's play from the pocket was truly world class. Opposition teams knew exactly how they were going to play, but repelling that game plan was another matter entirely. It took absolutely everything from New Zealand to win that Paris quarterfinal.
And so while it might not be the ideal outcome, if Gordon's unfortunate run with injury continues into next year, Australia can at least take some comfort in the twin returns of O'Connor and Foley.
Their experience of big-time Test matches is undeniable. Whether it was O'Connor spearheading the Wallabies' drought-breaking triumph in Johannesburg last year, or Foley's outstanding run of games as Australia made the 2015 final, both men are capable of doing a job come October next year.
"I've been speaking to Kissy. I haven't let him know my intentions fully, but maybe he's hearing this," O'Connor said after his one-year deal to return the Western Force was revealed.
"He knows I'm hungry for it. He knows I want to be involved. So I'll let my rugby do the talking."
It may be that one of either O'Connor or Foley becomes the third fly-half option in a World Cup squad of 33, or simply fills a hole as others are managed through the eight Wallabies Tests that precede the tournament next year.
But it feels almost inevitable that Australia will lose at least one playmaker in the run to the World Cup.
And given their Super Rugby returns to the Force and Waratahs, the veteran duo will now be front of mind for Wallabies coach Les Kiss, rather than overseas as is the case with Noah Lolesio.
Have they lost a yard or two of pace? Absolutely. But their collective 147 games of Test-match experience is worth its weight in Wallabies gold, particularly should Gordon's injury issues continue.
As there are still 16 Tests to be played before the World Cup even begins.