It's something Australian Rugby Union professional rugby general manager Rob Clarke says is an "ongoing concern" as the undefeated Canberra Vikings and Brisbane City go head to head at Viking Park on Saturday to decide the favourite for the championship.

Three of the NRC top four teams – the Vikings, Brisbane and Melbourne Rising – are aligned with Super Rugby franchises, giving them not only access to their players, but coaches and training facilities as well.

Having teams dominated with Super Rugby talent also means there's less chances for club players to impress and earn themselves professional contracts.

Brisbane won the inaugural NRC title last year and haven't come close to losing a game this season.

The Rising went through the home-and-away round undefeated last season before losing their semi-final.

After a disappointing 2014, the Vikings have also cruised through this season to set up a mouth-watering clash against City that could decide who hosts the grand final in three weeks' time.

All three clubs have played large numbers of Super Rugby-contracted players, including a number of Wallabies such as Christian Lealiifano – who was unlucky not to be selected for the World Cup.

At the other end of the NRC ladder, the Rays and the Greater Sydney Rams have won only one game each and boast only a few Super Rugby players in their squads.

Townsend wants to see players spread more evenly throughout the competition.

He thinks the non-Super Rugby-aligned clubs, like the Rays and Rams, should be allowed access to a few Super Rugby players who have an affinity with their regions.

That would mean instead of lining up for the Vikings, ACT Brumbies flanker Jordan Smiler would spend the NRC with the Rays through his background with Northern Suburbs.

Powerful No.8 Ita Vaea, who's been terrorising opponents in the NRC, would be available to the Rams through his association with Southern Districts.

"They've got to do something about that to ensure every team has a chance," Townsend said.

"I'd like to see the non-professional teams have access to maybe one player from each of the professional franchises, but that player ideally would have some sort of connection with the team that they played with.

"We could've had Caderyn Neville, Smiler, Jordy Reid ... then you get a more even distribution of talent across the teams.

"We've got to find ways to ensure we don't have what appears to be two pools of teams in this competition ... and everyone's a chance to play in the finals and at the moment they're not."

Clarke said it was something the ARU would examine at the end of the season.

He said it was a fine line finding the right balance of Super Rugby and club rugby players.

Clarke felt the NRC wasn't just about giving club players a platform to show whether they were capable of stepping up to Super Rugby, but also to develop fringe Super Rugby players.

He said last year 16 Super Rugby players could be used and that had been reduced to 14 in 2015.

It will be looked at again at the end of the season.

"It's a balance that we need to achieve in this competition. A key part of the competition is to give aspiring local players an opportunity to play on a better stage and in better company," Clarke said.

"The other part is to make sure our Super Rugby players that aren't run-on players week-in, week-out during the Super Rugby season get more game time as well.

"That's an equally important part of this competition as it if for the local players to get a chance.

"It's a concern [clubs with lots of Super Rugby players are dominating], it's an ongoing concern. It was there last year, it's here this year, but we've got to make sure any changes are done for the right reason."

Brumbies utility back James Dargaville was so impressive for the Sydney Stars in their 2014 NRC campaign he earned a Super Rugby contract.

This year he's been an integral cog in the Vikings back-line, whether on the wing or at inside-centre.

Sunnybank playmaker Mitch Third came to Canberra hoping to earn a spot on the Brumbies extended playing squad.

While the 19-year-old missed out, the Brumbies have asked him to remain in the ACT and train with their squad for the first half of the pre-season when the Wallabies players are away.

With the raft of Brumbies players at the Vikings' disposal, Third hasn't had much game time – but he said the experience has still been invaluable.

"The amount of Super Rugby players the Vikings have is unbelievable and training with the likes of Christian Lealiifano - he's really helped me," Third said.

"Yesterday I had kicking [practice with him], and tweaking little things, he's really helped.

"Off the field definitely counteracts [the lack of game time]. I've learnt so much in the space of such a short time. It's been really beneficial."

NRC ROUND 8

Saturday: Canberra Vikings v Brisbane City at Viking Park, 2pm.