The Rebels finished their pre-season unbeaten with a come-from-behind 25-24 win over the Highlanders in Melbourne on Thursday.

The hosts trailed for much of the match, but a last-minute Dom Shipperley try meant their pre-season record remained intact, following a good win over the Reds last week.

After heading into half-time with a 13-8 lead, the Highlanders responded with two penalties from Marty Banks, before a Trent Renata try looked to have sealed the victory for the visitors.

However, the Rebels hit back through Mitch Inman before Shipperley completed the comeback with a well-worked try.

Rebels – Tries: Jonah Placid, Mitch Inman, Dom Shipperley. Conversions: Mike Harris (2). Penalties: Harris (2).
Highlanders –  Tries: Patrick Osborne, Trent Renata. Conversion: Marty Banks. Penalties: Lima Sopoaga (2), Banks (2).

Rebels (squad) – Cruze Ah-Nau, Paul Alo-Emile, Colby Fainga’a, Scott Fuglistaller, Scott Higginbotham, Sam Jeffries, Luke Jones, Pat Leafa, Sean McMahon, Cadeyrn Neville, Jordy Reid, Toby Smith, Lopeti Timani, Laurie Weeks, Ben Whittaker, Luke Burgess, Cam Crawford, Mike Harris, Bryce Hegarty, Mitch Inman, Ben Meehan, Sefanaia Naivalu, Jonah Placid, Dom Shipperley, Nic Stirzaker, Telusa Veainu.

Highlanders – 15 Kurt Baker, 14 Waisake Naholo, 13 Teihorangi Walden, 12 Jason Emery, 11 Patrick Osborne, 10 Lima Sopoaga, 9 Josh Renton, 8 Elliot Dixon, 7 Shane Christie (captain), 6 Dan Pryor, 5 Tom Franklin, 4 Mark Reddish, 3 Ross Geldenhuys, 2 Ash Dixon, 1 Kane Hames.
Subs (from): 16 Brendon Edmonds, 17 Liam Coltman, 18 Pingi Ta'alapitaga, 19 Joe Wheeler, 20 Alex Ainley, 21 Gareth Evans, 22 John Hardie, 23 Nasi Manu, 24 Fumiaka Tanaka, 25 Marty Banks, 26 Michael Collins, 27 Ryan Tongia, 28 Trent Renata.

Photo: Robert Prezioso/Getty Images