“It’s pretty unfortunate for Mils and we’ll have to readjust things this week but luckily there’s such a strong squad and there’s always someone ready to step up,” Delany, who started the first three games of the competition at fullback in Muliaina’s absence, said.
“I definitely enjoyed first-five tonight - it's been a while and a long time coming and it was great to get out and just play my natural game. Hopefully I get to stay there for a bit longer but if I have to go back to 15, so be it.”
Compounding coach Ian Foster’s injury problems were head and neck injuries to Stephen Donald and hooker Hika Elliot respectively.
Donald started at second-five outside Delany and looked every inch a midfielder, adding control and punch to the position and perfectly complementing Delany’s tactical vision.
Elliot’s injury comes at a desperate time for the front row, already missing James McGougan, Nathan White and Aled de Malmanche, after the makeshift scrum was monstered by the Highlanders pack in the first half.
It’s not a question of whether the Bulls will target that area, more how much the Chiefs can limit the carnage inflicted on Friday.
"We have further injuries because of the hard ground and the boys are sore," Foster said.
"Recovery will be the focus this week. We will have a tactical and mental preparation, rather than physical, for the Bulls. They might start to doubt a few areas of their game after that loss to the Blues but they will also be coming hard."
Beside him in the after-match press conference, Muliaina wore a strange mixture of wounded relief on his face, delighted his side had arrested a three-match slump but painfully aware of the state of his ice-packed thumb.
"It's definitely broken," he said. "I get an X-ray on Monday and if it's serious, I could be under the knife some time next week."
Should Donald’s head knock prevent him from playing, Delany could get a reprieve at first-five, with young Counties-Manukau utility Tim Nanai-Williams thrown in at fullback.
Sitiveni Sivivatu shapes as a possible option but only if he recovers from his knee injury, ahead of a match loaded with ramifications.
“The Bulls have had it over us for the last few years and they’ll be pretty tough this week,” Delany said.  “They’re so consistent with the likes of (Victor) Matfield and (Morne) Steyn but to get them at home, in front of a big Hamilton crowd, will be pretty exciting.”
Highlanders captain Jimmy Cowan, meanwhile, lamented a match-defining error when replacement pivot Matt Berquist made a slippery break to set up Tim Boys with a certain five pointer, only for the openside flanker to spill the pill with the try line begging."The final pass costs us against the Crusaders and the Blues. It's the same thing each week and we need to look at ourselves so it doesn't keep reoccurring," the clearly frustrated All Blacks' halfback said.
"With six minutes to play it was the turning point. It would have been a nail in the coffin and they would have struggled to come back from there. It was a killer blow and is unacceptable."