"Winning [is the key]. There's a recipe for doing that and we have to get that recipe right. It's good. We have to find a way.''
They will probably have to do it without centre Dane Nielsen, who is struggling with ankle and shin injuries. He lasted only 40 minutes against the Titans last week and Elliott rated him an ``unlikely'' starter.
It would see Jerome Ropati switch to left centre where he has played most of his career and Ngani Laumape would slot onto the right wing. Ropati added considerable stability to the right edge against the Titans with his organisational skills so the right edge can expect to be tested by Canberra.
The Raiders will come to Mt Smart equally desperate with their season on the line and less than two weeks after the sacking of David Furner as coach.
They will also be without troubled centre Blake Ferguson who is hoping to leave the club and who has been a distracting influence for teammates. He opted to stay in Sydney for the last two weeks rather than support his teammates and was reportedly involved in a disturbance at a taxi rank in Kings Cross on Sunday morning despite telling the club he was in Sydney for a family-related matter.
"We've never doubted he's a talent on the field,'' halfback Josh McCrone told reporters. "It's what is [happening] off the field that's really been bugging us.''
The Raiders have a good record at home, and earlier this season stitched together a 12-game winning streak in Canberra, but have struggled on the road. They are capable of it, however, having beaten the Storm in Melbourne 24-20 in May and have also won two of the last three games at Mt Smart Stadium.
"We have put a lot of pressure on ourselves because of what happened earlier in the season,'' winger Manu Vatuvei said. ``The last two games will be do-or-die for us. We will go out there to play our best and to play hard. It's not going to be easy but it's something we need to do.''
