Dane Haylett-Petty returns as Rebels readjust stuttering attack

The return of Rebels captain Dane Haylett-Petty comes after an unwanted injury absence that could have also helped fellow backline star Reece Hodge get back to his best.

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The return of Melbourne Rebels captain Dane Haylett-Petty comes after an unwanted injury absence that could have also helped fellow backline star Reece Hodge get back to his best.

Rebels coach Dave Wessels will need every one of his star-studded back five up and firing too as the Melbourne outfit looks to arrest a two-game losing streak against the Hurricanes in Wellington.

Haylett-Petty missed the past month of matches with a toe injury sustained in South Africa and will replace Hodge at fullback, where, as fill-in, Wessels believes the Wallabies star started to rediscover his best form.

Dane Haylett-Petty will return to action for the Rebels against the Hurricanes. Picture: AAP

Hodge had an interrupted pre-season, and his first two 2019 appearances came off the bench. But the Rebels all-time leading try scorer is starting to rack up the sort of involvement that makes Hodge an attacking threat to rival anyone in the competition.

“I was really impressed with what he said this week about getting on with competing each game and trying to be the best version of himself,” Wessels said of Hodge

“I have seen a real shift in the way Hodgey is training and preparing. He has always been really diligent but he has a hunger to just want to compete every session and every game regardless of where he has been playing.

“And being present and focusing on what he can do best in the role he has been given is helping him play his best rugby for a while. Regardless of whether he is playing 12 or 15, he wants to make a contribution.”

Reece Hodge has been in great form for the Rebels. Picture: AAP

Wessels said the Rebels had put a focus this week on going back to the freewheeling attack which netted his team five wins from the opening seven matches of the season.

In the past two games, the Rebels have only scored 20 and then 24 points, totals which won’t be enough to beat the Hurricanes, who are second on the Super Rugby table.

“We were doing some things in our own attack that cut down our options, some silly things,” Wessels said.

“Those are the things we have worked on. This week we have brought more to our unstructured attack, unstructured defence, those are the things we enjoy doing, the things we are best at.

“We probably focused on the wrong parts of our game over the past two or three weeks and we identified the things we are good at, and our training has felt a bit different this week.”

Originally published as Dane Haylett-Petty returns as Rebels readjust stuttering attack