Super Rugby: Noah Lolesio leads ACT Brumbies past Melbourne Rebels in thriller

The 23-year-old's turbulent time in the national set up continued last month when he was overlooked for Eddie Jones' initial training squad.

Instead, Rebels flyhalf Carter Gordon emerged as a World Cup bolter after earning his first Wallabies selection.

That triggered a personal battle on Sunday afternoon, Lolesio determined to get one over his rival No.10 as Jones watched from the sidelines.

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The Brumbies flyhalf crossed for two tries and set the platform for a tense 33-26 victory with an impressive 56-minute stint.

Talking at half-time, the Brumbies No.10 revealed he entered Sunday's match with plenty of extra motivation.

"It's a bit personal this game, but I'll just keep it on the field," Lolesio told Stan Sport.

Sunday's win lifted the Brumbies to second on the ladder with four matches remaining in the season.

As one of Australia's greatest flyhalves, Larkham has taken Lolesio under his wing this season and he urged the youngster to continue working towards his Super Rugby and World Cup dreams.

"There's a long way to go in this competition," Larkham said. "My message to any player is to concentrate on playing well for your Super Rugby side and selection will look after itself. It's no different for Noah.

"We're trying to work on things with his game. He's been excellent at training and trying to grow. He had a good game tonight and needs to keep working."

The Brumbies travelled to Melbourne prepared for a battle and they were forced to work tooth and nail to secure the victory.

A Rob Valetini try looked to have secured the win however Gordon crossed to trigger a furious comeback and the Rebels spent the final five minutes camped inside the Brumbies 22 in search of an equaliser.

Replacement prop Cabous Eloff had a try disallowed for a double movement before he was held up with less than one minute to play.

That proved to be the end of the Rebels comeback, the Brumbies holding firm before forcing a turnover and kicking the ball into touch to secure a 33-26 win.

ACT coach Stephen Larkham was pleased with the defensive effort late and praised Lolesio for setting the platform for victory.

"He's super competitive, Noah, there's no doubt about that," Larkham said. "He's someone that wants to be better and better every week. He's challenging himself at training, challenging the guys around him.

"It's good to see the passions came out and emotions when he scored his try."

While Lolesio took the battle personally, Gordon also rose to the occasion.

The young 10 did everything he could to lead the Rebels to victory, setting up two tries and crossing for another.

Brumbies fullback Tom Wright, who outplayed Rebels No.15 and Wallabies contender Andrew Kellaway, said the positional battles are bringing the best out of players across the country.

"[Noah] stood up today, he had a real point to prove," Wright told Stan Sport. "Both of them played exceptionally, they were the two best players on the field from either side.

"Noah flattening up early in the game, scoring his own meat pie there. I think potentially he hasn't been pushing up into that space earlier in the season. Today he took the cuffs off and was playing right at the line. It was awesome for us."

ACT BRUMBIES 33 (Noah Lolesio 2, Jahrome Brown 2, Rob Valetini tries; Lolesio 3, Ryan Lonergan cons) bt MELBOURNE REBELS 26 (Lachie Anderson 2, Josh Kemeny, Carter Gordon tries; Reece Hodge 3 cons) at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium on Sunday.

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