Redemption will be the key theme for the Western Force when they take on the Melbourne Rebels in Friday night’s Super Rugby clash in Perth.

The Force’s finals hopes are already on thin ice following a three-game losing streak.

Although each loss was hard to take, it was their 42-13 defeat to the Hurricanes in front of the Force faithful a fortnight ago that caused the most pain.

The Force lacked their trademark defensive grit and fighting spirit in that home game, and the playing group is keen to make amends when they return to nib Stadium for just the second time this season on Friday night.

“It was uncharacteristic,” Force coach Michael Foley said of that performance.

“There’s one thing to go down in a game when you feel like you’ve given it your best effort, but in the Hurricanes game, we didn’t feel like we gave our best effort.

“The players came away from that performance shaking their heads at what we’ve done.

“And I take as much responsibility as they do.

“For us, crunch time is being able to play well at home. You’ve got to perform and you’ve got to show the fans what it means to you.

“How we play tomorrow night is very important.”

The Force put up more fight in last week’s 27-15 loss to the Brumbies in Canberra.

But with just one win to show from four games, the Force have little margin for error as they prepare to take on the Rebels, Bulls (Pretoria), and Sharks (Durban) in a testing three-game stretch.

The Rebels are equally desperate for victory after following up their shock win over the Crusaders with losses to the Waratahs and Brumbies.

A week off has left them refreshed, and they’ll be keen to erase the memories of their last visit to Perth.

In that fixture, the Force ran in four first-half tries on the way to a comprehensive 32-7 win, with the result sparking a five-match winning streak.