Melbourne Rebels say they need to quickly adjust to the unfamiliar role of front-runners, which contributed to their upset Super Rugby loss to the Lions.

The Rebels looked to have control of the AAMI Park match on Friday only for the Lions to score a try with two minutes remaining and steal the heart-breaking win. The home side dominated the South Africans in all the right statistics, before surrendering a 10-point lead to fall 20-16.

Melbourne followed a similar pattern the previous round against the Western Force but were able then to hold on. As last year's wooden-spooners, the much-improved Rebels say they aren't yet comfortable with leading matches.

Co-captain Scott Fuglistaller said in the past his team hadn't led often from the start, usually coming home with a wet sail to steal a rare win.

"It's still nice to talk about at least how that's shifted," Fuglistaller said. "We're the team who should have won the game instead of sneaking away with win. We're learning to play from in front and these are all lessons that will hold us in good stead for the future."

The Rebels' challenge goes up a notch next Friday night when they face the unbeaten Hurricanes in Wellington. Veteran centre Tamati Ellison, who was a stand-out in the first half, said the Rebels had no time to dwell on their loss. The Hurricanes continue to lead the competition after downing the Highlanders 20-13 on Friday night.

"There's no time for moping around because the 'Canes won't care what happened to us, they'll want another five points and they will be coming out firing," Ellison said. "The positive is that we need to be up for that game otherwise there's potential to be embarrassed."