Rebels coach Dave Wessels plans tricks to catch Brumbies out

So it should come as no surprise the former Brumbies assistant is planning to pull a few more tricks out of his hat this week to inflict more pain in the capital.

Brumbies-Rebels battles always seem to create some extra heat. The Rebels beat the Brumbies in 2011, securing the first win in franchise history and triggering the sacking of ACT coach Andy Friend.

Quade Cooper goaded the Canberra crowd when the Rebels won in round one last year, and then the Rebels extended their Brumbies winning streak to four later in the season.

"The primary battle you have with the Brumbies is their set piece, but for some reason they don't like to talk about that," Wessels said.

"When your hooker is your leading try-scorer, it says a little bit about how you're scoring your tries. So we have to deal with that, as we have in previous years.

"We always have a few things out of the hat they don't expect and catch them off guard. We want to [get] the Brumbies thinking in the past, we've created some problems for them."

The Rebels pride themselves on being able to stop the Brumbies' biggest attacking weapon and Wessels has lit the fuse for an intriguing battle on Friday night.

It is true Brumbies hooker Folau Faingaa was the top try-scorer last year and opened his 2020 account last week, but the club has hardly shied away from its rolling maul critics.

In fact, coach Dan McKellar has embraced it and the Brumbies have been refused to be bullied into changing their tactics because others can't figure out a way to stop it.

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The challenge, McKellar says, is persisting with a game plan that works rather than being tempted to use a different style.

"We've played really well in patches against them. I think back to last year, we were [leading] 19-3 at half-time and executing our plan well, but went away from that," McKellar said.

"That's our challenge this week, we've got a plan we'll go into the game with and don't get bored with it."

The Brumbies have won their past nine games at home and can edge closer to the club record of 13 if they end their Rebels drought in the round-two clash.

The Rebels will be intent on opening their winning account for the season after a surprise loss to the Japan Sunwolves last weekend.

Wessels had made three changes to his starting XV, while McKellar has drafted in Caderyn Neville to replace the injured Darcy Swain in the second row.

SUPER RUGBY ROUND TWO

Friday: ACT Brumbies v Melbourne Rebels at Canberra Stadium, 7.15pm.

Brumbies: 1. Scott Sio, 2. Folau Faingaa, 3. Allan Alaalatoa, 4. Caderyn Neville, 5. Murray Douglas, 6. Rob Valetini, 7. Tom Cusack, 8. Pete Samu, 9. Joe Powell, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Tom Wright, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 14. Solomone Kata, 15. Tom Banks. Reserves: 16. Connal McInerney, 17. Harry Lloyd, 18. James Slipper, 19. Nick Frost, 20. Will Miller, 21. Ryan Lonergan, 22. Bayley Kuenzle, 23. Andy Muirhead.