The Brumbies beat the Bulls 23-6 at Canberra Stadium on Friday night to regain top spot in the Australian conference.

The Brumbies face the Melbourne Rebels in a showdown next week in another massive contest as the teams fight for Australia's guaranteed finals berth.

The win against the Bulls was far from a polished product, but after losing four of the past six games and being troubled by off-field drama, it was a much-needed confidence-boosting win.

THE REBELS SHOWDOWN

Hear that faint tapping in the background? It's the Brumbies' heartbeat as they fight their way out of a mid-season slump that threatened to destroy their Super Rugby dreams. The Brumbies scrapped their way to a win against the Bulls to put them back to the top of the Australian conference. For the past six weeks the Brumbies have looked like shot ducks after a fast start to their season. They avoided losing three games in a row for the first time since 2011, and are now positioned to deliver a big blow to the Melbourne Rebels in Melbourne next week. There's a tight race for Australia's guaranteed finals spot, as the Brumbies, Rebels and NSW Waratahs jostle for positions on the table. Losses from now on could cripple play-off hopes and kill championship ambitions. The Brumbies are showing glimpses of the form that led to three wins from the first three games of the year. But they are still struggling to put together a complete game to reignite their year. If they can beat the Rebels they will be out of trouble, but in a tight contest for the rest of the year. The other positives are that the scrumhalf Tomas Cubelli had his best game so far and was named man of the match.

OFF-FIELD COINCIDENCE FOR DRAMA END?

The Brumbies have been dragged through seven weeks of off-field drama, boardroom battles, court cases and ugly infighting. The players and coaches say chief executive Michael Jones' fight against the board didn't filter into the rugby program. But maybe Jones' departure has freed up some of the pressure on the organisations and the players can run on to the field with clear heads. Jones agreed to a payout last week and finished in his role on Monday. There is still an ongoing case in the ACT Supreme Court, but all of a sudden it's not the No. 1 talking point at Brumbies headquarters. The Brumbies play the Rebels next weekend before having a bye and then taking on the Japan Sunwolves. The competition will then break for the three-week international period and the Brumbies finish their regular season with games against the Queensland Reds, Auckland Blues and Western Force.

FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE WITH PENALTIES

The Brumbies have been intent on going all-out attack this season, but as a result they've left plenty of points on the field. Co-captains Stephen Moore and Christian Lealiifano have regularly opted for an attacking lineout rather than going for three points with a goal. It has cost them in some matches, but they turned their focus to being accumulators against the Bulls. They kicked three first-half penalties rather than going for broke with a lineout attempt. It didn't start that way. The Brumbies squandered a chance to set up a rolling maul from five metres out when there was a timing issue with the throw and jumper. That triggered a change in approach and Lealiifano slotted the next three penalties to give the Brumbies a 9-3 lead. The Brumbies have won the most penalties inside their attacking 22 metre zone of any team in the competition this year. They need to turn that into points.

MATT TOOMUA BLOW AS INJURY RULES HIM OUT

Brumbies playmaker Matt Toomua's hopes of winning a starting Test spot are all but over after knee surgery ruled him out of the clash against the Bulls and for the next four to six weeks. Toomua had surgery earlier this week to clean up a problem that has been nagging him for the past month. The prognosis is that he faces more than a month on the sideline. That's a better outcome than the Brumbies had initially been told, with fears that he could be out for up to 12 weeks. The Brumbies are already missing Joe Tomane and Henry Speight from their star-studded back line. Robbie Coleman stepped up to fill the inside centre role against the Bulls and is likely to keep the job if he stays injury free. Toomua had been battling with Christian Lealiifano and Kurtley Beale for the Wallabies' No. 12 jersey for the Test series against England next month. The blow is even bigger given it's Toomua's last season in Canberra before he moves to England for a stint abroad.

AH WONG'S CHANCE TO SHINE ON SPECIAL NIGHT

Brumbies winger Nigel Ah Wong broke the game open just four minutes after half-time when he ran a perfect line to slice through the defence and score the opening try of the match. It was a big night for Ah Wong. He was starting just his third Super Rugby game and his first with parents Carmelita and Faamata in the crowd. The Brumbies players had their mums names stitched into their jerseys as a mother's day tribute. But their special jerseys were also a tribute to the females behind the players. For Ah Wong, that meant aunt Sese was at the front of his mind. Sese was diagnosed with motor neurone disease three years ago. She now eats through a tube in her side, is housebound and communicates via an iPad. Ah Wong said it was an inspiration for him, and the driving force behind him becoming an ambassador for motor neurone disease awareness week. The Brumbies streaked further ahead when Argentina scrumhalf Tomas Cubelli took a quick tap and then caught the Bulls napping down the blindside. Cubelli has been strong in his debut Super Rugby season and his running game has been a highlight of the ACT side's season. Occasionally he makes the wrong decision with a quick tap, but he's shown he's willing to take a chance.