Sam Harper, who was promoted to open the batting after his 36 from 25 balls in the first match, has led the way for the Renegades, who seem unperturbed by the absence of Aaron Finch and Marcus Harris.

With Finch's replacement as captain Tom Cooper yet to find form with the bat, Boyce said there was plenty of upside to come.

"He's [Cooper] world class and will bounce back," said Boyce.

Despite only taking a single wicket in the first two rounds, Boyce's bowling has leaked very few runs, a key requirement for a successful bowling attack in the tournament.

"If we made finals on the back of me taking zero wickets, I'd take it – wickets aren't everything in T20 cricket, restricting runs is just as important," said the Queenslander, who spent Christmas Day back in the sunshine state, not overly keen on a potential Christmas Day game getting in the way of family time.

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The Renegades enter the match with one eye on the looming Melbourne derby on New Year's Day, with Boyce citing the prospect of a packed MCG as a big drawcard in his decision to join the club. The Renegades back up their January 1 clash with another encounter with the Strikers two days later.

The Renegades will be without Zak Evans and Will Sutherland for those matches, both touring Sri Lanka with the Australian under-19 squad.

Jake Fraser-McGurk comes into the squad for Evans, while Mackenzie Harvey and Beau Webster have also been added to the squad after recovering from injury.

Joe Mennie, yet to play for the Renegades this season, has been omitted from the squad.