Warriors v Brisbane Tonight, Mt Smart Stadium, 5.30pm. What the Warriors say The Warriors blew a great opportunity against Souths last week, when a win would have taken them into the top eight. It's crunch time now. "We have to get straight back on track," said fullback Wade McKinnon. "The way the competition is, being so tight, if you can get a couple of wins in a row it means a lot." What the Broncos say Coach Wayne Bennett's actions spoke louder than words when he dropped star Sam Thaiday for missing a training session. No mucking around there. They will miss Thaiday, but you can bet everyone else will mean business. What Prichard says In a less than stunning development, the weather forecast for Auckland today is rain. I'm not saying the Broncos won't be able to handle such conditions, but will they handle them as well as the Warriors are likely to? After all, the Warriors should be more used to playing in the rain than any team and it was only two rounds back that they beat Melbourne in the wet at this ground. They can't help but draw a lot of confidence from that win. If they can control the ball well enough and get their relentless style of go-forward happening, the Warriors will make it hard for Brisbane to hold them for 80 minutes, particularly since the Broncos have lost several players from their nominated team, on top of Tonie Carroll already being out. The Warriors have won three of their past five games against the Broncos at this ground. This is a mini grand final for the Warriors, because they need to win to have a chance of making the finals. It's a big game for Brisbane, too, with their top-four ambitions, so we should see a great contest, but with the home-ground advantage and the Broncos weakened a bit the Warriors can edge them. For Warriors to win Patience is the key. The Warriors have often undone themselves in the past by getting too outlandish in possession and turning the ball over. For Broncos to win They are going to have to strap themselves in for a physical game. The likely conditions mean the Broncos won't be able to get too fancy and it will be up to big men Joel Clinton, Ben Hannant and Corey Parker to lead the way up front against a Warriors side that will be intent on using its size and power to advantage. The X factor Darren Lockyer. He has hauled the Broncos out of a couple of tight ones in Auckland in the past and he is probably going to have to make a major contribution if they are going to win this one. Like all of the great playmakers, if his team is behind in the second half Lockyer will look to get his hands on the ball more and more in an attempt to come up with a big play. What the bookies say The Warriors have tightened, but the Broncos remain slight favourites. Sportsbook.com.au has the Broncos at $1.79, with the Warriors at $2.04. The handicap is set at 11/12 points. The late mail Brisbane lock David Stagg's wife was still waiting to give birth yesterday and he is not going over for the game. Greg Eastwood and Ashton Sims are set to rise from the bench to start at lock and second-row respectively, with Derrick Watkins joining Isaak Ah Mau as additions to the bench. PJ Marsh has flown across to be 18th man. The teams WARRIORS: W McKinnon, M Solomona, B Tate J RopatiM VatuveiM Witt N Fien R Wiki I Henderson S Price (c) S Mannering L Swann M Luck. Res: L Hohaia, B Matulino, E Lauaki, S Rapira. BRONCOS: K Hunt, D Kemp D Boyd J Moon K Manihera D Lockyer (c) P Wallace B Hannant M Ennis J Clinton C Parker, A Sims, G Eastwood. Res: N Kenny, D Taylor, I Ah Mau, D Watkins.