The Rebels are believed to be lining up Reds star Scott Higginbotham as a replacement for Gareth Delve who will leave the club to play in France.

The Rebels say that they have not yet made Higginbotham an offer but they need a replacement for Delve as he had revealed that he will play for French club Toulon.

Wallaby Higginbotham can play blindside flanker as well as No.8 played a big part in the Reds victory over the Chiefs on Sunday and scored the first try in the second half which launched the Reds second half surge.

"He (Higginbotham) would have to be player of interest to us if he was available," Melbourne chief executive Steve Boland told AAP.

"We've had no formal talks about Scott Higginbotham at this stage."

Higginbotham has played 11 tests for the Wallabies and would be a seamless replacement for No. 8 Delve who has been one of their best signings.

Boland said that the Rebels have six to eight positions that they need to fill for next season and they are hoping to have a settled roster before their two-match trip to South Africa in early July.

Rebels 34-year-old captain Stirling Mortlock has not made a decision on his playing future yet while veteran utility back Mark Gerrard will come off contract at the end of the season.

Boland said flanker Michael Lipman who was one of the Rebels stars in their victory over the Crusaders could be offered a new contract.

"We told a number of the players we'd be having a look over the next three to four weeks and Michael's certainly a player we're still really interested in," he said.

Boland added that there is no truth in the rumour that flanker Jarrod Saffy's neck injury will end his rugby career.

"He's really confident he'll be able to get back to training by October-November," Boland said.