Warriors v Raiders preview

New Zealand Warriors v Canberra Raiders
Mt Smart Stadium - Saturday 3:00pm

Mid-table logjammers jostle for position.

A Saturday afternoon clash pitting together two teams struggling for consistency awaits us across the Tasman this weekend. Both sides are riding the fine line between top-eight contenders and also-rans, with both sides offering a 1-2 win-loss ratio from their last three coming into this one. The Raiders form line is probably of more concern here - they've only won one of the last five.

The Warriors benefited greatly last week with the return of Sam Tomkins as the NRL's enigma finally showed some strength to down an indifferent Gold Coast outfit. A close loss to the Roosters preceeded by a thrashing from reigning premiers South Sydney both didn't feature Tomkins, who is key to their hopes. Together with Shaun Johnson (and his electric second half against the Titans), it's these two who will determine whether the Warriors' 20th season will finish with finals footy.

For Canberra it's just been a tough month - an emphatic victory over Newcastle amongst losses to a range of title contenders including the Dragons, Broncos, Cowboys and even the Bulldogs, have the green machine packing a bit of confidence, but with little to show for it. Their fight and determination was on show more than ever in last Saturday's loss to North Queensland, with their desperate attempts to stop Johnathan Thurston's match-winning field goal giving the Raiders' faithful plenty of hope before the ultimate heartbreak.

Last meeting: Round 2 2015 - Canberra Raiders 6 New Zealand Warriors 18

A tense clash in the Nation's Capital saw the sides go to the break 6-all before two quick early tries in the second half drove the Warriors home to their fourth straight win over Canberra. This came despite no additions to the scoreboard for the last 35 minutes of the contest.

Looking further back, the Warriors have racked up 50+ points in each of their prior three victories in 2013 and 2014.

Who to watch: Ben Matulino is easily the Warriors' unsung hero. He ran for over 200 metres against the Gold Coast last week and was nearly unstoppable in the second half. His work together with his fellow forwards laid the platform for Shaun Johnson to weave his magic.

For Canberra there was no doubt Sam Williams played a significant role in keeping his side so competitive against one of the competition's frontrunners in the Cowboys last week. Pitted against the game's best in Thurston, Williams' finesse and control had the Raiders poised for a shock upset until the final moments. He'll be better for the experience.

The favourite: After putting away the Titans so commandingly last week, together with the home ground advantage, it's all the Warriors.

My tip: Very hard to go past the Warriors in this one, they'll consolidate a top eight position here as they look to set up a strong second half to the season.

1. Sam Tomkins 2. Tuimoala Lolohea 3. Konrad Hurrell 4. Solomone Kata 5. Manu Vatuvei 6. Chad Townsend 7. Shaun Johnson 8. Jacob Lillyman 9. Nathan Friend 10. Ben Matulino 11. Bodene Thompson 12. Ryan Hoffman 13. Simon Mannering
Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili 15. Raymond Faitala-Mariner 16. Charlie Gubb 17. Albert Vete

1. Jack Wighton 2. Edrick Lee 3. Jarrod Croker 4. Sisa Waqa 5. Jordan Rapana 6. Blake Austin 7. Sam Williams 8. Paul Vaughan 9. Josh Hodgson 10. David Shillington 11. Josh Papalii 12. Iosia Soliola 13. Shaun Fensom
Interchange: 14. Kurt Baptiste 15. Jarrad Kennedy 16. Frank Paul Nuuausala 17. Shannon Boyd 18. Joseph Leilua

Referees: Gerard Sutton, Chris Butler; Sideline Officials: Jeff Younis, Anthony Elliott; Video Referees: Steve Chiddy, Ben Galea;

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