KEY POINTS:
How will the Raiders bounce back from last weekend's thrashing in a game that means nothing for them?
That's the big question for Warriors fans.
But that should not be in the minds of the Warriors who travel to Canberra to take them on tonight.
The formula for
the Warriors from here on has to be to worry about their own game, stay on track, keep momentum and the winning game plan.
Should they lose, it will not be disastrous provided they have played well and gone close against a team playing at its peak. But on form they should blow the Raiders away.
A Saturday night in Canberra, though, has never been comfortable. The Warriors have won just once in seven encounters there and that was in 1997. This time, the odds in terms of talent are heavily stacked in their favour.
"No one was happy with that performance last week," said Raiders coach Neil Henry of their 52-4 loss against the Bulldogs. "There were too many unforced errors. We missed 45 tackles. We gave Sonny Bill Williams the ball and he was virtually unstoppable."
Henry has dropped fullback Marshall Chalk and shifted David Howell from wing to fullback, bringing David Milne on to the wing.
He dropped halfback Michael Dobson and shifted Todd Carney in from five-eighth. Terry Campese was called up from premier league to fill the six jersey. The halves movement has continued throughout the season and the lack of cohesion there has undoubtedly contributed to the Raiders' poor record away, just two wins from eleven games.
At home they have won six games, handing big hidings to the Knights, Eels and Titans. But they have lost to each of the top-eight sides they've hosted, the Storm, Eagles, Cowboys and Manly.
"I needed to bring some enthusiasm into the squad," Henry said of the changes.
He's well aware his young squad faces an uphill slog tonight. "The Warriors have a stable side and that counts for a lot. They're coming into some good form. The Warriors lead the comp in metres gained and off-loads, Wade McKinnon is in exceptional form, Steve Price is a great leader and the amount of work he gets through is phenomenal.
"Ivan [coach Cleary] has done good things with McKinnon, Grant Rovelli, Micheal Luck. They'll come here wanting a top-four spot so they have plenty of motivation. It's a matter of how we bounce back. We have work to do to finish the season and everyone knows it."
Coach Cleary has also done his homework and noted the Raiders are "two different teams, the one that plays at home and the one that plays away".
He was putting no weight on the Bulldogs result as a form pointer. "They've picked a big team, it's going to be a really big game."
They had areas to work on. "We made too many errors last week. It made our defence do a lot of work. You can't do that in the games coming up," Cleary said of the playoffs.
Carney and Campese may be a pressure point for their attack. "Whenever you're changing halves obviously you aren't going too well."
But the pair had played together in lower grades and should know each other's game.
Both teams have one key player recovering from injury: McKinnon hobbling on his bad left ankle on Monday, training with some discomfort on Wednesday but steadily improving from there; and the Raiders captain Alan Tongue missed last weekend's game after undergoing surgery to clear nasal blockages and has to receive a medical clearance.
Cleary said he had no concerns about the performance of wing Michael Crockett, who was charged with sexual assault by Sydney police this week.
"I wouldn't have picked him otherwise. I've been really happy with the way he's approached things and I'm sure he'll play well."
Premier league curtainraiser, Canberra 7.30pm.
Auckland Lions: Aidan Kirk, Patrick Ah Van, Tony Martin, Miguel Start, Malo Solomona, Steve Buckingham (c), Lance Hohaia, Russell Packer, Corey Lawrie, Wayne McDade, Louis Anderson, Sonny Fai, Scott Jones; interchange Leeson Ah Mau, Fabian Soutar, Lui Toimoana, Upu Poching.
Raiders: Bronx Goodwin, Troy O'Sullivan, Junior Sau, Brad Cross, Michael Brophy, Marc Herbert, Michael Dobson, Ryan Barton, Jack Pearson, Cy Lasscock, Joe Picker, Ben Jones, Marshall Chalk; interchange Josh McCrone, Brenton Lawrence, Alan Rothery, Jason Williams.
