KEY POINTS:
The New Zealand Warriors are bracing to meet a different Canberra side than the one thumped in the last round of the National Rugby League, and a key reason is the venue.
The Warriors will be in the night-time cold of Australia's capital on Saturday when they resume their bid for a top-four spot.
Their opponents, languishing in 14th place and four points out of the top eight with just three rounds to go, look to have only a mathematical chance of making the playoffs.
They have lost two in succession, their last defeat a particularly disappointing one when they were humbled 4-52 by the Bulldogs in Sydney.
But the Warriors are expecting the Raiders to be lifted by a return to Canberra Stadium after two weeks on the road.
"They're sort of two different teams, the one that plays at home and the one that plays away," coach Ivan Cleary said.
"They've had two away games, so they'll be pretty keen to get back home.
"They've picked a big team, and they've been pretty aggressive and enthusiastic in the games I've seen, especially in Canberra."
The statistics back Cleary's assessment that the Raiders appear to produce something extra when in front of their own fans.
Six of their eight victories this season have been at home and they have won their last two fixtures there, scoring 90 points in process.
They welcome back skipper Alan Tongue from injury, while coach Neil Henry has rejigged the halves combination, with Terry Campese coming in at five-eighth and Todd Carney going to halfback.
The fifth-placed Warriors enter the contest having maintained their resurgence of the past two months by beating Gold Coast 30-6 last weekend.
The result lifted their haul of competition points to 15 from the last 18 on offer.
However, while the win over the Titans was eventually a comfortable one, the Warriors lost their way a little after racing out to an 18-0 lead midway through the opening spell.
Despite the margin of victory, they ended up having to produce more tackles than the opposition.
Cleary said the error rate - the Warriors made twice as many mistakes as the Titans - was an area needing improvement.
"We started the game pretty well but after that we were a bit scrappy," he said.
"That made our defence do a lot of work, which was pretty good and we were happy with that.
"But we made too many errors, particularly at our own end, and if you do that in the games coming up, you're not going to win too many."
Fullback Wade McKinnon, who missed the win over the Gold Coast due to an ankle injury, was cleared to travel with the team today.
McKinnon resumed training this week and he was itching to get back out playing.
Sitting on the sidelines was not something he enjoyed, especially if his teammates were under pressure and he could not do anything to help out.
"I don't really like to watch, although you have to do it sometimes," he said.
"I definitely prefer to be out there."
McKinnon's inclusion is one of two changes Cleary has made, the other being winger Michael Crockett's return.
Crockett, who has been charged with sexual assault over an alleged incident in Sydney, was given last week off as news broke that he was being investigated by police.
He has told the club that he strenuously denies the claim.
- NZPA
