KEY POINTS:
The venue doesn't matter, the New Zealand Warriors just have to do the rugby league basics right, assistant coach John Ackland says.
The Warriors have yet to win away from home in the National Rugby League this year and will have their next shot at breaking their duck on Sunday when they face Penrith in Sydney.
Victory on the road would be nice, Ackland said, but if a team didn't hang on to the ball and missed a bunch of tackles, they were always going to lose, home or away.
"We have to complete sets, we have to defend our try line a lot harder than we've done in the past and we have to work hard on last tackle," he said.
"Then we'll have a good chance. If we complete 30 sets, I'll back us every week."
The closest the Warriors have come to the 30-set mark on their travels was also when they were the most competitive.
On their last trip across the Tasman, they made full use of 28 of their 37 sets when going down 28-36 to the Gold Coast.
There are some other statistics from their four away matches so far this year that the Warriors will want to improve on.
They include conceding at least a two-try start to the opposition on each occasion and leaking an average of 42 points a game.
Ackland said the Warriors' tardiness out of the blocks was a definite area of concern.
"We have to start well," he said.
"We haven't got off to a good start in all our away games. That's absolutely vital."
The Warriors' last victory in Australia was against Penrith, in the final round last year.
The 24-20 result left the Panthers with the wooden spoon, while it secured the Warriors home advantage in the first week of the playoffs.
This time around, both clubs are in mid-table on 10 competition points, with points differential putting Penrith ninth and the Warriors 11th.
Both are missing one player to Queensland State of Origin duty - the Warriors have centre Brent Tate in camp, where he is joined by Penrith skipper and prop Petero Civoniceva.
Tate's replacement is Jerome Ropati, who returns from injury after having been in good form earlier in the season.
It is the only change in the Warriors' starting 13, while veteran prop Ruben Wiki also comes back from injury to join a five-man bench.
In Civoniceva's absence, hooker Luke Priddis will assume the Penrith captaincy.
The Panthers again have utility Luke Lewis at halfback, a move that paid off last week when they overwhelmed the Bulldogs 30-4 in Sydney.
At home, Penrith's record this year almost matches the Warriors' woes on the road, with just one win in four matches at the foot of the Blue Mountains.
But Ackland pointed out that, even without Civoniceva, the Panthers had plenty of players with test experience, including Kiwis Tony Puletua and Frank Pritchard.
"They are a big team and they have plenty of skill," he said.
"They have guys in very good form, like Pritchard, and (fullback) Rhys Wesser is looking back to his best. Luke Lewis is playing well and they have a class guy at hooker."
If the Warriors didn't hang on to possession, they would find themselves in trouble, Ackland said.
"But if we do hold the ball, as I said, I'll back us each week."
- NZPA
