NRL: Townsend favours strategy over flair

Chad Townsend of the Warriors passes the ball during the round 13 NRL match between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the New Zealand Warriors. Photo / Getty Images.

The Warriors know how devastating they can be when they play to their structures, and according to five-eighth Chad Townsend, are aiming to work teams over strategically rather than relying on all-out attacking flair.

The Penrose-based side are intent on replicating last week's highly efficient second-half effort against the Titans, and demonstrate the same focus and composure in establishing a platform up-front, when they meet the Canberra Raiders at Mt Smart Stadium today.

The emphasis is on absorbing and creating pressure rather than looking for easy points early on, with a firm belief their attack can shine and reap rewards in the latter stages of matches, as it did on the Gold Coast.

"Ball security, composure, kick game, finishing sets, completion rate, if they're all high percentage then it gives us more chance of winning," Townsend explained.

"We definitely know we are capable of that, we just need to replicate it more often.

"We believe in the process. Our game method [against the Titans] was to play tough and to put the ball in the corner and make them come out of their own end.

"In the second-half they couldn't handle it, and we came over the top in the end and scored some good tries."

The Warriors are wary of the much-improved Raiders' forward power and in-form ball-running five-eighth Blake Austin. The visitors have a five-two away record and will be desperate to claim another win after last week's heart-breaking final-minute defeat to the Cowboys.

The seventh-placed Warriors have 16 competition points, level with the ninth and 10th-placed Bulldogs and Sharks, and will be looking to put some distance between them and the chasing trio of the Raiders, Panthers and Titans, all locked on 14 points.

A win ahead of next week's second and final bye would see the Warriors well placed to consolidate a playoff spot through the final nine rounds, with five more home games scheduled against the Storm (fifth), Sea Eagles (16th), Sharks (ninth), Dragons (third) and Cowboys (second).

"They've [Raiders] been one of the most improved teams in the comp," Townsend said. "They've got some pretty big and aggressive forwards and some clever halves who run and kick the ball reasonably well so we're expecting a big game and we're looking to put in a good performance before the bye."

Key to the Warriors' hopes is the ability of their big men to power forward giving Townsend and halfback Shaun Johnson room to move, as they did so effectively last week.

Hooker Nathan Friend credits the work of wing Manu Vatuvei and centre Solomone Kata early in the tackle count for providing the initial thrust for the forwards to build upon. He hopes they can make home fans proud after losing three of six games at Mt Smart Stadium this season.

"They [forwards] are just following up from Manu and our outside backs. They've got us on the front foot and they [props] come in on the third and fourth plays and roll forward and get to our kick," said Friend.

"We're at home and it's Jacob Lillyman's 200th game and Bodene Thompson's 100th and our performances at home have been okay but they haven't been great.

"It's a place where we like to call our home and get some victories, we just need to perform well."

? Former Salford and Warriors fullback Kevin Locke has signed on with Super League's cellar dwellers Wakefield Trinity.

Wakefield moved in quickly to snare the former Kiwis and Warriors player after Salford owner Marwan Koukash confirmed he was willing to release him from his contract.

Locke has signed with Wakefield to the end of the season, pending a visa.