Melbourne Rebels looking to do double over Reds as best ever finish looms

REBELS captain Scott Higginbotham says the time has come to convert near misses into victories as the club strives to record its best ever season.

Melbourne Rebels training at Visy Park, Luke Burgess at training. June 25th 2014. Picture : Colleen Petch

MELBOURNE Rebels captain Scott Higginbotham says the time has come to convert near misses into victories as the club strives to record its best season to date.

The Rebels will tonight host the Queensland Reds at AAMI Park in its last home game of the year before closing the season with two games in South Africa.

If Melbourne can win two out of its next three games it will better the five wins it achieved last season, which was the club’s strongest in its short history.

Higginbotham said it provided the squad with strong motivation after a frustrating season in which it performed strongly at times with little to show for it.

“It’s an opportunity to finish as high as we have in this competition as a club since we started,” he said.

“This year I think we have bettered a lot of performances from last year.

“Although we had some good wins and scored a lot of point last year, this year we’ve really challenged a lot of teams.

“I’d say a lot of games we probably should have won, so that’s the disappointing side.

“On the other side, we’ve still got three games to go to try and improve on last year.”

The Rebels skipper said his side let itself down with poor showings against the Waratahs and Brumbies before the international break.

“We should have been better in both those games,” he said.

“We really wanted to get a win against the Waratahs as they were the only Australian team we hadn’t beaten this year.

“We let ourselves down there and I guess that led into the following week.”

Rebels coach Tony McGahan has named rising Sean McMahon in the starting line-up and Jack Debreczeni for his run-on debut

Debreczeni recently re-signed with the club and is part of a backline shuffle that also sees flyer Jason Woodward move to the right wing.

The Reds will tonight be without injured star duo Will Genia and Quade Cooper.

It presents Melbourne with a strong opportunity to beat the Reds at AAMI Park for the first time.

“They are still a premiership winning side and no doubt they will be looking to play some good footy against us,” Higginbotham said.

Higginbotham will have a personal point to prove in Melbourne’s three remaining games.

He missed selection in the Wallabies’ first Test match against France this month before earning a bench spot in the second international.

The star back-rower said it would drive him in the latter stages of the season.

“You try and do everything you can during the Super Rugby season to earn your spot,” he said.

“Unlucky for me I wasn’t selected in two of three Tests and one off the bench, which for any player isn’t enough.

“I guess I’ve got three games to prove myself, which is what everyone else in the Australian conference will be doing as well.”