The Raiders had a surprise trip to Auckland haunted amusement park Spookers on Wednesday and it left them a lot closer - literally.

Petrified Green Machine players scampered through the house of horrors huddled tightly together, chased by ghouls wielding blood-dripping chainsaws.

It was hard to know where the blood-curdling screams came from - but Raiders prop Corey Horsburgh was definitely a suspect.

Fearless on the football field, a wild-eyed Horsburgh was especially terrified and clearly happy to get the hell out of there - thankful he'd chosen to wear dark shorts to dinner.

England star John Bateman will also be wondering why he ever came down under to test himself in the NRL.

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The past few weeks have seen him face a series of tests - first he's had to handle Darwin's crocodiles and now he's been given nightmares in New Zealand.

In comparison, the Warriors pack will hold little fears for either the fiery redhead or the Englishman despite their renowned size and physical approach.

Raiders winger Bailey Simonsson had extra cause to be scared - given cheeky halfback Sam Williams had already given him the fright of his life.

An unsuspecting Simonsson was the victim of a hilarious practical joke from a masked Williams - leaving the flyer flat on the floor in fear.

Thankfully, there were no such scares from another outing.

A small group of players, including Jordan Rapana and Jack Wighton, took advantage of their day off to do some deep-sea fishing, further highlighting the close ties of the group.

A number of Raiders players are avid fishermen.

The Raiders have been in Auckland since Monday, heading straight from Sydney to help cut down on the travel in their short turnaround since their 30-18 victory over the Penrith Panthers on Sunday.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart said they got through Thursday's captains run unscathed, as they look for their fourth straight win to cement their spot in the top four.

Stuart said they'd set up the week as a mini mid-season camp, with a big focus on recovery given they only had four days between games.

They ramped the intensity up for the captains run to be ready for the Warriors.

"I got more enjoyment out of watching everyone jumping out of their skin than most," Stuart said.

"It was a fun night. It was interesting watching plenty of tough footballers very, very scared."

The Raiders have lost their past two encounters with the Warriors and if last year's games are anything to go by Friday will be a tight tussle - both games were decided a combined margin of five points.

Canberra won four straight games against the Kiwi side before that.

NRL ROUND 2

Friday: Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors at Mt Smart Stadium, 6pm.

Raiders: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Michael Oldfield, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Sia Soliola, 11. John Bateman, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Corey Horsburgh, 17. Dunamis Lui. Reserves: 18. Sam Williams, 19. Hudson Young.

Warriors: 1. Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, 2. Gerard Beale, 3. Peta Hiku, 4. Blake Ayshford, 5. Ken Maumalo, 6. Kodi Nikorima, 7. Blake Green, 8. Agnatius Paasi, 18. Kyle Lawton, 10. Leeson Ah Mau, 11. Adam Blair, 12. Isaiah Papalii, 13. Jazz Tevaga. Interchange: 14. Lachlan Burr, 15. Sam Lisone, 16. Bunty Afoa, 17. Chanel Harris-Tavita. Reserves: 20. Josh Curran, 21. Adam Pompey.