The Brumbies have qualified for the Super Rugby finals for the first time in nine years after beating Melbourne Rebels 39-17 at Canberra Stadium.

The six-try bonus point victory gives the ACT franchise virtually an unassailable lead over nearest Australian conference rivals the Queensland Reds, and can't be overtaken by the seventh-placed Auckland Blues.

It's the first time the Brumbies have qualified for the Super Rugby finals since winning the competition in 2004.

However an early injury to stand-in captain and Wallabies hopeful Nic White took some of the gloss off the emphatic victory.

With his reliable box-kicking game missing, flyhalf Matt Toomua and Jesse Mogg ramped up their punts another notch and managed to keep the Rebels buried in their own half for most of the match.

White came off the field in the ninth minute clutching his shoulder, just five minutes after prop Scott Sio had opened the scoring for the home side.

"I just cleaned up a bit of ball there, went in low thinking I was going in for a try and got a bit of contact," White told Fox Sports.

However the Brumbies didn't allow their momentum to be stalled, with winger Clyde Rathbone crashing over in the left corner in the 11th minute to give his side a 10-0 lead.

The Brumbies seemingly then dropped a gear, both sides exchanging penalty goals before Rebels winger Tom English scored a try against the run of play to narrow the score to 13-10.

But the home side hit back immediately with four consecutive tries of their own; Rathbone touching down for his second before Henry Speight, Colby Faingaa and Zack Holmes got a piece of the action.

A consolation try to Rebels replacement Paul Alo-Emile with 10 minutes remaining managed to take a little sting off the scoreboard.