Good and bad: Lolesio fires early Wallabies shot as Brumbies lament ill discipline

The flyhalf sent a message to his rivals of his desire to reclaim the Wallabies No.10 jumper, outplaying Rebels playmaker Carter Gordon in the process.

Lolesio was superb on Friday night, connecting with Corey Toole for the winger's second try and orchestrating the Brumbies attack in a hard-fought contest.

Where Gordon made a number of errors, the ACT flyhalf lifted in the pressure moments to highlight his Australian ambitions to new coach Joe Schmidt.

ACT coach Stephen Larkham feels Lolesio has returned from a stint in France a more confident player, while skipper Ryan Lonergan said his on-field growth has been clear to see.

"He's grown continually over the pre-season," Lonergan said. "There's not one thing I've picked up on but his game's growing altogether as a 10. His ability to control the match is the biggest thing I've noticed."

The Brumbies have long prided themselves on their lineout and the early signs are they haven't skipped a beat in 2024.

While the scrum struggled, the attacking lineout was firing on all cylinders, with a well-formulated maul laying the foundation for Corey Toole's second try.

The Brumbies also enjoyed success defensively, claiming five steals without losing any and ensuring the Rebels struggled to have any clean ball from the lineout.

Nick Frost produced a crucial steal on his own line with 16 minutes remaining, helping ACT repel another Melbourne attacking raid.

The Brumbies struggled with their kick reception on Friday night, putting themselves under pressure on multiple occasions with errors and poor exits.

The ACT defence was good enough to withstand wave after wave of Rebels attack, however the New Zealand heavyweights will capitalise on those attacking opportunities in the coming weeks.

Larkham was disappointed with the crucial aspect of the game and said it will be an area of focus throughout the week.

Larkham was also disappointed with some of the penalties his team gave away, with the side conceding 20 throughout the contest.

That number doubled the Rebels' 10, with referee Angus Gardner repeatedly growing frustrated with the Brumbies and sending Len Ikitau to the sin bin.

While some decisions left many ACT fans raising their eyebrows, others did not need to be conceded.

Like the kick restarts, it's another area of the game the New Zealand sides, starting with the Waikato Chiefs next week, will look to capitalise if it continues.