Rebels centre Reece Hodge is eyeing a dream finals finish to his career in Melbourne.
Hodge will depart at the end of the season for France with Top 14 club Bayonne on a three-year deal.
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They sit one point outside the top eight, having never made the finals under the combined competition structure.
The club looked certain to make the finals in 2019 after leading the competition after six rounds, only to lose eight of their last 11 games to miss out on points difference to the Sharks.
They made finals in Super Rugby AU 2020, with Hodge eager to continue their push ahead of Saturday's clash with the Blues.
“I think looking into the future moving on at the end of the season, it would be definitely special to make finals," he reflected to reporters.
“It’s something apart from Super Rugby AU we’ve never made since I’ve been here so we’re all buying into the style of footy that we want to play and the results we want.
“We’re very aspirational for playing for finals but we’re not looking past this week…if we’re starting to think how our attack is going to get into the finals and not the job at hand, we’re not going to be in that situation."
Hodge has been a stalwart of the club since making the trip down to Victoria in 2016, set to become the first Rebel to reach 500 Super Rugby points, stranded currently on 499.
They face a difficult block of fixtures, welcoming not only the Blues but the Crusaders to Melbourne either side of the bye, both of last year's finalists.
Their injury list is starting to thin, with Hodge returned from a nasty hand gash against the Fijian Drua alongside Andrew Kellaway, his first appearance since breaking his foot during the Spring Tour.
Fellow Wallabies Rob Leota and Matt Philip are pushing for a return in May, potentially timely returns before they face fellow finals hopefuls NSW Waratahs, Highlanders and Western Force in the final month of the season.
“It’s great having those experienced Super Rugby and Wallabies players coming back at the end of the season but we’re not going to do them justice if we’re chasing wins at the end of the season," Hodge said.
“This block coming up either side of the bye is really important in terms of getting the result and building in attack and defence.
“The best thing we can do in terms of helping those guys in terms of getting them back in the program is to get some wins and really perform real.”
