NRL: Warriors seek more tries

The New Zealand Warriors will look to throw off a few more of the shackles when they come up against the National Rugby League's best defence in Auckland on Sunday.

Having boosted their confidence by beating the bottom-placed Sydney Roosters last weekend, the Warriors will now try to keep their slim playoff hopes alive against competition leaders St George Illawarra Dragon.

The 30-24 scoreline against the Roosters in Sydney featured the most points they had managed this season.

It was also the first time the Warriors, traditionally noted for being a free-wheeling attacking outfit, have passed the 14-point barrier in 10 matches.

"It's not something we think about," hooker Ian Henderson said of the side's difficulty in posting big scores this year.

"But it was good to get to 30 points."

Henderson said the game plan against the Roosters included trying to chance their arm more in attack, something the Warriors would look to build on against the Dragons.

"The team has the ability to do that pretty well," he said.

"We've just been holding that back lately and we're not sure why, so we just want to throw the ball around a bit more and improve on last week again."

However, the Warriors also know that won't be easy against the Dragons, who haven't lost since early June and have conceded an average of just 13.5 points in their 17 matches.

But Henderson said he and his team-mates could take heart from the two sides' last meeting in early May, when the Warriors were pipped 12-11 in a thriller at Wollongong.

"I think we all thought we should have won that game," he said.

"We had it for the taking but lost it right at the death. We got a lot of confidence from that, that we can beat them."

The return match will have the subplot of Nathan Fien's first trip back to Mt Smart Stadium since his mid-season move to the Dragons.

Fien will start in the No 9 jersey, putting him in a head-to-head duel with Henderson, who was relishing the prospect.

"It will be good to come up against Nathan," he said.

"He's a good friend of mine and we played together but I won't be changing my game too much. I'll be thinking about myself and what I do best, rather than thinking about him."

The Warriors welcome back skipper Steve Price after a week out recovering from the knockout punch he took in State of Origin 3, and exciting youngster Kevin Locke from injury.

They have retained Isaac John at five-eighth after the 20-year-old's first-grade debut last Sunday.

John provided one of the moments of match with an instinctive cut-out pass that sent winger Patrick Ah Van over for a try.

He admitted he had struggled a little with the pace of NRL.

The previous weekend, he was playing for Otahuhu in Auckland's Fox Memorial club competition, "so it was a bit of a step up".

But having got his first appearance under his belt, he would be better prepared for what to expect when he ran on against the Dragons.

One of four players used this season by the Warriors at five-eighth, including Fien, John was thrilled to be in the NRL.

The biggest buzz was being paired in the halves with veteran playmaker Stacey Jones.

"It's unbelievable, I grew up watching Stacey and I used to come with my dad to watch him at games," he said.

"He was my roomie in Sydney and he was giving me tips all the time. When you have New Zealand's greatest halfback as one of your mentors, it's pretty special."

- NZPA