League: Hosts hoping for a lift from Lusi

Warriors prop Sam Rapira says the team "just need to be prepared to run harder, tackle harder''. Photo / Getty Images

The Warriors and Dragons were supposed to be contenders for different "prizes" this season but both confounded predictions in their opening matches of the year.

Last weekend, the Warriors played nothing like the playoffs hopefuls most expected them to be as they were brushed aside 36-16 by the Eels.

Conversely, the Dragons were among the favourites for the wooden spoon and coach Steve Price was seen as the most likely of the 16 coaches to get the sack. It's still very early, and their first-round 44-24 win was achieved against the lowly Wests Tigers, but it has eased some pressure around Wollongong.

The Warriors will still be favourites when the two sides square off at Eden Park today but there are a number of things working against them.

Not only have they never won at Eden Park but they have also lost their last eight games against the Dragons and won only four of 20 games between the sides.

Add in a cyclone bearing down on Auckland, and it's a recipe for a slippery result.

"It's a big game for us," assistant coach Ricky Henry said. "The Dragons have momentum at the moment but we just have to get into the game and take it away from them."

The Warriors didn't come close against the Eels.

The outside backs were badly exposed on defence, the forwards didn't gain any ascendancy and the halves failed to gain any control - halfback Shaun Johnson ran the ball for only 4m in the match.

Only props Ben Matulino (126m, two tackle breaks) and Jacob Lillyman (123m) emerged with pass marks.

The Warriors are notoriously slow starters to seasons, which makes their lack of intensity against the Eels difficult to comprehend.

It's apparently resulted in a marked improvement at training but, as prop Sam Rapira said: "It shouldn't take us losing a game to switch it around. Mentally we just need to be prepared to run harder, tackle harder. Parramatta did that a lot better than us last week."

The weather is expected to play a significant role in the match as Cyclone Lusi hits New Zealand. The Warriors are likely to adopt a more conservative approach if the forecast winds and rain materialise and it could favour them more than the Dragons, given they frequently train and play in difficult conditions.

"The Dragons are coming from sunny New South Wales so it will be interesting to see how they go," Henry said. "We will have to change our plans accordingly [if it hits].

"It could be an advantage for us. We have obviously looked at defence being a major priority for us [after last week] so the game is going to be pretty tight."

Front-rowers often don't mind such dismal conditions - it's invariably slower and they see more of the action - and the Warriors have a strong propping rotation.

The Dragons will be missing Josh Dugan and former Warriors halfback Michael Witt and will look to five-eighth Gareth Widdop to once again run the show (he laid on four tries and kicked eight goals from eight attempts).

The Warriors were supposed to have a relatively kind start to the season - in the opening seven games they face teams from last year's bottom three four times - and it's imperative they take advantage.