KEY POINTS:
The Warriors have stuck with the bulk of the team that lost to Wests Tigers ahead of next Monday night's game away to Parramatta.
Wairangi Koopu comes back into the frame on a five-man bench to be cut by one on game day.
The 27-year-old second rower has been out since last August with a muscle-wasting problem in his right shoulder but has played strongly in two games back for the Auckland Lions.
Koopu seems likely to play as coach Ivan Cleary looks for his backrowers to create more attacking opportunities and perhaps Epalahame Lauaki's mistake rate will again cost him a place.
Obviously, the coach was happier with the work from Michael Witt and Jerome Ropati in the halves than he was with Grant Rovelli and they stay on.
Steve Price returns from State of Origin duty and Corey Lawrie is pushed back to the Lions.
Parramatta have made four changes from the team that thumped the Cowboys 44-14 last Saturday. Wing Jarryd Hayne and Nathan Hindmarsh will be back after State of Origin One, with the latter replacing his brother, Ian, who received a fractured eye socket in the Cowboys game and is out for two weeks. Timana Tahu returns at centre after a hamstring injury and Fuifui Moimoi comes back on to the bench after recovering from a knee strain.
Eels coach Michael Hagan said they would have to learn to cope with the nine-day break between games.
"Our preparation will really kick in on Friday when we've had a chance to assess how Jarryd and Nathan have come through the Origin," Hagan said on the club's website.
Victory is crucial for both sides.
The Warriors are seventh on the NRL ladder and the Eels eighth by virtue of points differential but both know a loss will send them plummeting well out of the top eight.
The Warriors beat Parramatta 34-18 at Mt Smart in round one this season but the Eels have since won four of five games at their home ground, putting plenty of points on the Raiders, Roosters and the Cowboys.
The dummy-half running from former Warriors PJ Marsh and Mark Riddell was outstanding against the Cowboys while second rower Feleti Mateo had a blockbusting game until troubled by a knee injury. If the Eels play like that again, the stuttering attack of the Warriors will not be good enough to beat them.
PARRAMATTA vs NZ WARRIORS
Parramatta Stadium, 9pm Monday
PARRAMATTA
1. Luke Burt
2. Jarryd Hayne
3. Ben Smith
4. Timana Tahu
5. Eric Groethe
6. Brett Finch
7. Tim Smith
8. Nathan Cayless (c)
9. PJ Marsh
10. Aaron Cannings
11. Nathan Hindmarsh
12. Feleti Mateo
13. Daniel Wagon
Interchange: Mark Riddell, Josh Cordoba, Chad Robinson, Fuifui Moimoi.
NZ WARRIORS
1. Wade McKinnon
2. Patrick Ah Van
3. Tony Martin
4. Simon Mannering
5. Manu Vatuvei
6. Jerome Ropati
7. Michael Witt
8. Ruben Wiki
9. Nathan Fien
10. Steve Price (c)
11. Louis Anderson
12. Logan Swann
13. Micheal Luck
Interchange: Lance Hohaia, Wairangi Koopu, Epalahame Lauaki, Sam Rapira, Evarn Tuimavave.
