The ACT Brumbies will roll the dice on starting Noah Lolesio in the grand final for his first match in two months, adamant "the belief in him and what he'll bring is still there".
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The rookie will partner Joe Powell in the halves for the clash with the Queensland Reds at Canberra Stadium on Saturday night.
Their injection into the starting side sees Bayley Kuenzle and Nic White shuffle back to the bench to close out the game as the Brumbies hunt for their first grand final win in 16 years.
Lolesio has not played since injuring his hamstring against the NSW Waratahs on July 18 but had shown enough to be called into Dave Rennie's Wallabies squad over the weekend.
The rising star will take the goal-kicking duties with Brumbies coach Dan McKellar confident he will be able to pick up where he left off two months ago.
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"He is a genuine threat in attack, he has got the ability to play nice and flat, he sees space and opportunity as well as any player we have within the country," McKellar said.
"He is going to challenge any defensive line. He has got a whole lot of confidence in directing us around the park as well, so [expect] what we saw over the first couple of months of Super Rugby this year. He's a confident kid who backs his ability and that's what we want him to do on Saturday.
"Any tired of fatigued defenders in front of him, he is always going to be looking for that opportunity. He has got very good vision, he can see space at times well ahead of others.
"That's why we've given him the nod. He gives us an extra dimension to our attack. He's a tough little bugger as well, he is prepared to run a hard line and potentially get whacked.
"I don't really care how old [players] are, we picked Noah at the start of the year and he did a great job. The belief in him and what he'll bring is still there."
Murray Douglas will return in the No. 4 jersey, pushing Darcy Swain out of the squad. Lachlan McCaffrey will start in the back-row, with Rob Valetini to come off the bench.
The halves reshuffle sees Ryan Lonergan and Len Ikitau drop out of the 23, with Powell's recall to the starting XV largely driven by Lolesio's return.
"There is a combination there, Joey and Noah have played a lot of footy together at Brumbies, club level and NRC," McKellar said.
"Going into a grand final, they have a clear understanding of how each other plays, and that's why we did what we did.
"The starting XV is pretty much the core group that was playing at the beginning of the year and has played for large parts of this year. Joey gets an opportunity there.
"We've picked a strong group to finish the game. Grand finals are generally tight affairs, so we're pretty comfortable in the guys who will come off the bench and finish the job."
SUPER RUGBY AU GRAND FINAL
Saturday: ACT Brumbies v Queensland Reds at Canberra Stadium, 7.15pm.
Brumbies squad: 1. Scott Sio, 2. Folau Fainga'a, 3. Allan Alaalatoa (c), 4. Murray Douglas, 5. Cadeyrn Neville, 6. Lachlan McCaffrey, 7. Will Miller, 8. Pete Samu, 9. Joe Powell, 10. Noah Lolesio, 11. Tom Wright, 12. Irae Simone, 13. Tevita Kuridrani, 14. Andy Muirhead, 15. Tom Banks. Replacements: 16. Connal McInerney, 17. James Slipper, 18. Tom Ross, 19. Nick Frost, 20. Rob Valetini, 21. Nic White, 22. Bayley Kuenzle, 23. Solomone Kata.
Reds squad: 1. JP Smith, 2. Brandon Paenga-Amosa, 3. Taniela Tupou, 4. Angus Blyth, 5. Lukhan Salakaia-Loto, 6. Liam Wright (c), 7. Fraser McReight, 8. Harry Wilson, 9. Tate McDermott, 10. James O'Connor, 11. Filipo Daugunu, 12. Hamish Stewart, 13. Hunter Paisami, 14. Jordan Petaia, 15. Jock Campbell. Replacements: 16. Josh Nasser, 17. Harry Hoopert, 18. Ruan Smith, 19. Tuaina Taii Tualima, 20. Angus Scott-Young, 21. Moses Sorovi, 22. Bryce Hegarty, 23. Jack Hardy.