The Melbourne Rebels put the brakes on the Western Force’s winning run with a hard-earned 22-16 victory in their Good Friday Super Rugby clash at AAMI Park.

The Rebels made amends for their early-season humiliation at the hands of the Force and stopped the Perth franchise’s surge at five successive wins.

It was Melbourne’s third win and was much needed after back-to-back losses in New Zealand and with the bye next round.

They did it the hard way, dominating the first half everywhere except on the scoreboard with the teams locked at 6-6 at halftime.

The Rebels had 62 per cent of possession, a massive 502 run metres compared to the Force’s 207 and made only 39 tackles compared to 96 for the visitors.

They didn’t get across the tryline until the 61st minute, relying on the boot of fullback Jason Woodward kicking penalties.

That try came after skipper Scott Higginbotham took the ball from the back of their scrum and charged over.

The Melbourne scrum earned bragging rights over their rivals while lock Luke Jones continued to push his claims for a Wallaby call-up, making a game-high 16 runs.

The Force, missing halfback Alby Mathewson (ankle), lock Sam Wykes (rib) and winger Luke Morahan (hamstring), also struggled to bag a five-pointer with five-eighth Sias Ebersohn keeping them in the game.

They hammered hard early in the second half, getting within centimetres of the tryline but the home side’s defence held up and they ended up taking three points for a ruck penalty.

The Force looked out of steam on the back of their winning run, which included the scalp of the NSW Waratahs last round.

Higginbotham’s converted try extended their lead to 19-6 and the early workload started to take its toll on both sides with the error toll mounting.

Woodward brought his personal toll to 17 points – five penalties and a conversion – before Force winger Nick Cummins crossed after the siren to ensure an all-important bonus point.