AAMI Park, Melbourne, Friday 7.40pm (AEST)
Last meeting: Round 4 2014 - Force 32 bt Rebels 7 at nib Stadium
Head-to-head: Played 7, Rebels 5 Force 2
In Melbourne: Played 3, Rebels 2 Force 1
Referee: Andrew Lees (AUS)
TV: Live, FoxSports 2
Betfair: Rebels $1.92, Force $1.85
Ladbrokes: Rebels $1.79, Force $2.03
Steve Samuelson writes: The Force will go top of the Australian conference with a win in Melbourne. The Rebels have had the wood on the Force in the past and lost their two matches in New Zealand by a total of nine points. The battle of the backrows should be a cracker.
AAP writes: The Force are shaping as the fairytale story of the season, five straight wins thrusting the Perth-based franchise into fourth spot. But a growing injury toll is threatening to halt their progress and revenge will be the key theme for the Rebels, who conceded four first-half tries when they met the Force in round two. The Rebels have suffered tight losses to the Chiefs and Highlanders over the past fortnight and they’ll need to win this one if they are to make anything out of their season.
REBELS: Jason Woodward, Male Sau, Tamati Ellison, Mitch Inman, Tom English, Bryce Hegarty, Nic Stirzaker, Scott Higginbotham (c), Scott Fuglistaller, Colby Fainga'a, Luke Jones, Cadeyrn Neville, Laurie Weeks, Shota Horie, Toby Smith. Reserves: Pat Leafa, Cruze Ah-Nau, Paul Alo-Emilie, Hugh Pyle, Sean McMahon, Luke Burgess, Tom Kingston, Angus Roberts.
FORCE: Dane Haylett-Petty, Patrick Dellit, Marcel Brache, Kyle Godwin, Nick Cummins, Sias Ebersohn, Ian Prior, Ben McCalman, Matt Hodgson (capt), Angus Cottrell, Wilhelm Steenkamp, Adam Coleman, Kieran Longbottom, Nathan Charles, Pek Cowan. Res: Heath Tessmann, Tetera Faulkner, Ollie Hoskins, Phoenix Battye, Brynard Stander, Justin Turner, Zack Holmes, Chris Tuatara-Morrison.