NRL: Scarred Warriors look to ruin Raiders

The Warriors have a bye following this week's clash with Canberra. Photo / Getty Images

The New Zealand Warriors will look to nip two potential trends in the bud when they host Canberra in Auckland tomorrow night in a National Rugby League match between two battle-scarred sides.

Both teams are licking psychological wounds from last weekend, the Raiders after throwing away a 24-6 halftime lead at home to be run down by South Sydney 24-26.

In Melbourne, the Warriors were overrun by the Storm, who were fired-up in the wake of their salary cap scandal and the heavy punishments handed down.

The 6-40 scoreline marked the second time in a row that the Warriors' had leaked a flood of points, after a 12-40 defeat to the Penrith.

While they were plunged into a highly unusual situation against the Storm, given the lead-up to that match, the same couldn't be said of their loss to the Panthers, which was their second in succession at home, a statistic that runs counter to their desire to turn Mt Smart Stadium into a fortress.

"We want teams to find this a real challenging place to play at," centre Jerome Ropati said.

"So far we haven't made it that way."

For Ropati, the match against the Raiders carries added significance because the Warriors will have their first bye next week.

The result will stay with the team for two weeks, and he doesn't want it to be a loss.

The Warriors go in with a 3-4 win-loss record which has them 10th on the table, four places above Canberra, who have won two and lost five.

A key factor in the Warriors' defeats to both the Storm and the Panthers was the amount of ball they coughed up, which made it only a matter of time before their defence was breached.

"Ball security, that was the main thing," Ropati said.

"We gave over too much possession. In both cases we leaked 20-plus points in the first half and you just can't be chasing that kind of score in the second half. It takes too much out of you."

Ropati will again combine with young winger Bill Tupou on one flank, with regular partner Manu Vatuvei still among a group of experienced Warriors out with injury.

The others sidelined include Steve Price, Brett Seymour and Simon Mannering, with Jacob Lillyman added to the list after suffering a foot injury against the Storm.

While coach Ivan Cleary was philosophical about the injury toll, he said it had definitely had an impact, especially against the Storm.

"You cannot dance around the situation that we do have a quite a few of our experienced players out," he said.

"Looking back on Sunday night, it would have been nice to have had a few more guys who had played in big matches. They're not far away, and it doesn't matter how young you are, everyone's looking for a bit of redemption."

Cleary has reshuffled his backline, with Lance Hohaia moving from five-eighth to fullback, where he performed well earlier in the season.

Joel Moon goes to five-eighth, allowing Brent Tate to revert to his favoured position of centre, while Patrick Ah Van comes on to the wing for his first NRL appearance of the year.

The Warriors do have history on their side because the Raiders haven't won in Auckland since 2001.

Canberra coach David Furner has brought forwards David Shillington and Tom Learoyd-Lahrs into his starting 13 as he tries to reverse his club's dismal away record, with just one win from their past 10 road trips.

- NZPA