Soliola's form and cool head under pressure is set to catapult him into New Zealand's World Cup calculations as they aim to defend their title. But if the Kiwis don't want him Samoa looms as another option.

Soliola, 29, hasn't played for New Zealand since 2009 after moving his career to England, but he was given the job of captaining Samoa at the 2013 World Cup.

The Raiders view Soliola as the calming influence at the club and credit him with helping build a new culture that has put them on the cusp of a top-four berth.

The Raiders play New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium on Saturday and a win will see them reach the top four given the North Queensland Cowboys and Canterbury Bulldogs play each other this weekend.

The Raiders haven't been in the top four this late in a season since 2003.

"To be honest, I'm not really thinking about [international rugby league] at this stage. First and foremost it was always about winning a premiership with the Canberra Raiders," Soliola said.

"That's what we addressed and spoke about with [coach] Ricky Stuart when he asked me to come back [from England] and join this club.

"That's my priority. As you know, off the back of good footy everything falls into place. That's what we've seen with Josh Papalii this year.

"If the opportunity comes and I get a chance to play for New Zealand or Samoa ... I'm open to it for sure."

The Raiders are bracing for an unpredictable shoot-out against the Warriors, with both teams striving for a complete performance to shore up their finals credentials.

The Raiders have won their past three games but are flying under the radar as a premiership contender.

The Warriors have moved into eighth spot but have struggled to find consistency. Since losing to the Raiders in May, the Warriors have won four of their six games and the two losses have been in golden point extra-time.

Soliola is well aware of the risks the Raiders face against the Warriors given he grew up playing in junior New Zealand representative sides with Manu Vatuvei, Thomas Leuluai and Simon Mannering.

The Raiders are trying to avoid the hype of their finals charge and Soliola said their only focus is making sure they don't give the visitors a sniff in Canberra.

"In this industry there are a lot of changes and chemistry is a big thing," Soliola said.

"I think we're moving in the right direction with the way Ricky has brought in all of these boys. We're enjoying everyone's company.

"The saying goes that Rome wasn't built in a day and neither was this club. We're moving in the right direction, but to say we're there is hard to say. I feel we're getting close."

Stuart has opted to back a giant bench against the big Warriors pack.

An injury to back-up hooker Kurt Baptiste has opened the door for Jeff Lima to make his comeback from injury while Luke Bateman has been included after serving a one-match suspension.

Playmaker Aidan Sezer said the Raiders were intent on building more momentum after a hat-trick of wins.

"We'd like to continue that and coming up against a big team like the Warriors, they'll be eager for the win as well," Sezer said.

"We haven't been clinical, but we've been finding a way to win and that's really good at this time of year. We really want to start hitting some form and ticking some boxes in regards to how we play, so we look forward to that this week."

NRL ROUND 20

Saturday: Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium, 3pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.

Raiders: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Edrick Lee, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Junior Paulo, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Josh Papalii, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Shaun Fensom. Interchange: 14. Sia Soliola, 15. Luke Bateman, 16. Paul Vaughan, 17. Joe Tapine.

Warriors: 1. David Fusitu'a, 2. Ken Maumalo, 3. Blake Ayshford, 4. Solomone Kata, 5. Manu Vatuvei, 6. Thomas Leuluai, 7. Shaun Johnson, 8. Jacob Lillyman, 9. Issac Luke, 10. James Gavet, 11. Bunty Afoa, 12. Ryan Hoffman (c), 13. Simon Mannering. Interchange: 14. Tuimoala Lolohea, 15. Sam Lisone, 16. Ben Matulino, 17. Jazz Tevaga.