The Panthers have laboured near the foot of the table all season and remain just one spot off the bottom. However, they have won just one match fewer than the Warriors and an upswing in form that has included wins over the Dragons and Sea Eagles suggests all is not lost for a team widely tipped for the wooden spoon.
The Warriors, by contrast, were highly fancied coming into 2012, but a number of blown opportunities have left them struggling to live up to expectations.
Coach Brian McClennan knows the pressure is mounting.
"It's how you manage the pressure that counts," he said.
"The situation at the moment is that we need some competition points. So we need to perform really well to give ourselves a chance of getting those points."
Locke's return for just his sixth match of the season may well prove crucial.
With the seemingly cursed fullback jumper having done for Jerome Ropati and Krisnan Inu, and Glen Fisiiahi having failed to make much of a statement, the lack of consistency at the back has neutered the team's attack at crucial times.
"He's a cheeky little bugger and he plays like that," said McClennan of Locke.
"He's got a box full of tricks and if he can play the full 80 that will really help us a lot. We've really suffered from not having a consistent number one."
The hard-hitting younger Rapira brother, Steve, also gets his chance to lay down a marker tonight.
An unfortunate run of injuries has limited him to just four matches in the top grade since he returned from the Cowboys in 2011, but an injury to brother Sam has opened up a spot in the front row.
While the Warriors will be highly fancied, they weren't falling into the trap of believing the Panthers posed little threat without their Origin stars, Rapira said.
"That is the worst way you can think," he said. "The thing is, the boys who are coming in to fill their position, they are getting a shot so they are going out there to prove everything. [Someone] coming from NSW Cup has nothing to lose and everything to prove."
Rapira could just as easily be talking about himself there, while former Warriors junior Matt Robinson is another hoping to make a statement.
A member of the Warriors' champion 2010 NYC team, the Wellingtonian was told last season by Cleary to find another club due to the logjam of backrowers ahead of him. Coincidentally, he signed with Penrith just a day after Cleary made up his mind to take up a three-year offer from the Panthers.
Robinson will make his fourth first-grade appearance off the bench.
"He's been progressing nicely," Cleary said. "He's been in good form for our feeder club the Windsor Wolves and now he has an opportunity in first grade. He hasn't let anyone down yet and I don't expect him to."
WARRIORS
Centrebet Stadium
Kevin Locke
Bill Tupou
Ben Henry
Konrad Hurrell
Manu Vatuvei
James Maloney
Shaun Johnson
Russell Packer
Alehana Mara
Ben Matulino
Elijah Taylor
Simon Mannering
Feleti Mateo
Warriors: Lewis Brown, Steve Rapira, Sione Lousi, Jacob Lillyman
PANTHERS
Lachlan Coote
Etuate Uaisele
Geoff Daniela
Brad Tighe
Josh Mansour
Travis Burns
Luke Walsh
Sam McKendry
Kevin Kingston
Dayne Weston
Clint Newton
Cameron Ciraldo
Ryan Simpkins
Panthers: Matt Robinson, Chris Armit, Danny Galea, Nigel Plum.
