KEY POINTS:
Auckland coach Pat Lam is keen to accentuate the positive before tonight's potentially tricky trip to Mt Maunganui.
Auckland may have rather muddled their way through their opening 40 minutes of the season against Counties-Manukau, but Lam was happy to focus on a second-half effort in which they
ran in five unanswered tries to turn a 5-5 halftime scoreline into a somewhat flattering 39-5 victory.
"The pleasing thing is we got better, rather than the other way around," Lam said.
The key to that turnaround was the more direct second-half approach, and Lam's selections for tonight's match suggest he'll be asking for more of the same against the forward-oriented Steamers.
Brad Mika's impressive spurt against the Steelers has been rewarded with a start at No 8, and Lam has also opted for power at blindside by switching Jerome Kaino from the back of the scrum.
"We know we are in for a battle and a physical game," Lam said.
"It's important that we have enough gas in the tank to combat that.
"[Counties] was a physical game, a lot of guys got some knocks. Daniel Braid took a big hit to the head and hasn't been able to do too much training."
Braid's openside starting role has been taken by Onosai Tololima-Auva'a, who looked lively scoring two tries off the bench against Counties.
One of the darkest days in Lam's three-year Auckland reign was inflicted by Bay of Plenty when they lifted the Ranfurly Shield with a 33-28 victory at Eden Park in 2004.
The Steamers also toppled Auckland at the Mount a year earlier but they haven't fared so well since.
"We've fronted really well against them," Lam said, rejecting any notion of Bay of Plenty being Auckland's bogey side.
The extent of the neck injury that has ruled out hooker Derren Witcombe was not yet known, Lam said, but was not expected to be as bad as the 2005 injury that threatened his career and sidelined him for nine months.
"A scrum collapsed and he felt tingling down his arm. He managed to finish the game but, when you've been through the injury he had, you want a precautionary check. We are all hoping he'll be okay."
Lance Po-Ching will start in Witcombe's place in his fourth appearance for Auckland.
All Blacks lock Ali Williams will play second fiddle to younger brother Jay, who will continue to jump in the middle of the lineout.
After holding Canterbury to a halftime draw in their opening match at Jade Stadium last week, Bay of Plenty will have been unhappy with the way they fell away to lose 34-3.
Winger Teu Nafe, who has been brought in to replace Lance MacDonald in the only change to the backline, will make his second appearance for the Bay.
In the pack, Colin Bourke will start at No 8 in place of Solomon King, who switches to the blindside in place of Warren Smith. He goes to lock. Aaron Rameka has been dropped to the bench, where he is bracketed with John Moore.
