Assistant coach Cory Brown said the Reds are good and playing exciting rugby, which will be challenging.
The Highlanders lacked some accuracy at the end of their loss to the Hurricanes, who were desperate and defended well to deny the home team.
"A positive for us was the effort and character we showed. But we've got to be better with more accuracy at the breakdown and with our carrying clean."
Brown said that wing Jona Nareki, who left the field with an ankle injury on the weekend, had not been ruled out and that he would be assessed during the week.
Halfback Folau Fakatava is close to returning, but it is unclear whether he will be available on Saturday.
While the Highlanders have been scoring more tries this year, it was from their unstructured game, and they needed to be better in set-piece play, moving the ball and their skill sets.
"That's what we come to work every day for and try to get better. Hopefully it continues to improve and we get better and better."
Brown said looking at overseas trends was something all coaches do, and it was clear defences are more organised from structure and it was harder to score from there.
"We see with the speed of the game [in Super Rugby Pacific] that it is creating more opportunities. Guys are getting a bit tired and that's where the tries are coming. It's exciting for rugby."
Australia's sides were more competitive as a result of one less team.
"If you are not quite on, then you know you are going to get beaten. That's a challenge every week for us.
"That's the game. If you're creating momentum and attacking space with good athletes and skills we're going to be scoring some good tries."