Their coach Stephen Kearney blasted his team for committing the cardinal sin of not having a crack following their fifth straight loss - against the Newcastle Knights last Saturday.

They were expected to push for the finals this campaign, given the recruitment of star-half Kieran Foran and the return of captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck from a knee reconstruction.

The Raiders have won their last two, but need to win their remaining four to have a chance of playing finals this year as they sit two wins behind eighth-placed Penrith.

While the Warriors' form line would be happy reading for the Green Machine, Kearney's words wouldn't be with Canberra captain Jarrod Croker expecting a fiery response from the much-maligned New Zealand team.

"They're going to be a desperate side. They've been copping it quite publicly over there. They've been under the pump and they've got a few players out as well," Croker said.

"They're a side that's going to be desperate to turn the tables. They've lost a few games in a row now. They always seem to cop it, the Warriors, as soon as they stop winning games.

"We're expecting a big, fired up team so it's going to be a physical game and I'm sure our big boys will be ready for it."

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart warned his team if they didn't prepare expecting a Warriors backlash then they'd get caught out.

He wants his players to "meet aggression with aggression" otherwise they won't come away with the two premiership points they desperately need.

"They've been publicly scrutinised and criticised in regards to their performances, individually they've been told some of them aren't trying and there's no greater way to be motivated if you're that way inclined," Stuart said.

"If we don't prepare to play a Warriors team at their best performance, a Warriors team that is hurting, we'll get beaten."

Kearney admitted "honest conversations" kicked off a "tough week" that led to him dropping Kiwi hooker Issac Luke to the bench as the Warriors look to return to form.

The Raiders have found some form, partly due to the switch of England international Elliott Whitehead to lock and Kiwi youngster Joe Tapine to the right edge.

Whitehead had a massive game in the Raiders' 30-12 victory over reigning premiers Cronulla, while Tapine showed what he's capable of in the second row the week before against South Sydney.

But rather than worry about trying to stop the pair, Kearney said his sole focus was on getting his team to Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday with the right attitude.

"They're both pretty experienced and play some pretty good footy, both rep players," Kearney said.

"For us, the focus to be quite fair is making sure we get our performance right and turning up with a better attitude certainly than we did last week. That's really important for us this weekend.

"We had some honest conversations at the start of the week so we've got that out of the way and we're really looking forward to the challenge the Raiders present us this week."

But the main reason the Raiders have started to fire has been their forwards.

Josh Papalii and Junior Paulo have led Canberra's pack all season, but in recent weeks Shannon Boyd, Tapine and Whitehead have also started to shoulder the load, with Dave Taylor providing a few cameos as well.

Stuart said if his "big blokes" can get on top, then it allows hooker Josh Hodgson to control the game.

"If our big blokes in the middle can take some control, he'll get some control and that's an important fact for our big blokes to understand," he said.

"And they do understand that. When Hodgo plays well, our big blokes are playing well."

NRL ROUND 23

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors in Auckland, 2pm. Live on Fox League.

Raiders: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 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. Joe Tapine, 13. Elliott Whitehead. Interchange from: 14. Kurt Baptiste, 15. Clay Priest, 16. Dave Taylor, 17. Luke Bateman, 18. Michael Oldfield, 19. Jeff Lima, 20. Royce Hunt, 21. Erin Clark.

Warriors: 1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (c) 2. David Fusitua 3. Blake Ayshford 4. Solomone Kata 5. Ken Maumalo 6. Kieran Foran 7. Mason Lino 8. Jacob Lillyman 9. Nathaniel Roache 10. Ben Matulino 11. Bunty Afoa 12. Ryan Hoffman 13. Simon Mannering. Interchange from: 14. Issac Luke 15. Sam Lisone 16. Isaiah Papalii 17. James Bell 18. Jazz Tevaga 20. Chris Satae 21. Ata Hingano 22. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad.