It might sound impressive but Warriors great Stacey Jones couldn't care less about making his 250th NRL appearance for the club on Friday.

The legendary little general will achieve the milestone against Newcastle at Mt Smart Stadium, but Jones says the only thing he wants to be celebrating is a win.

"The only numbers that matter to me on the night are the points, the points that show we've got the win that we desperately need," the modest veteran halfback told AAP.

"Nothing else matters, and that includes 250 games."

Check the scoreboard and you'll understand his determined thinking.

The Warriors have slumped to 12th place, three places outside the top eight at the NRL competition's crucial halfway point.

They've won just two of their last ten games and now need to win more than half of those left to make the cut.

But they have a challenge first up in a round 14 game against the eight-placed Knights, with bookies backing the away team to take the points.

With the bye coming up next week, the importance of defeating the Knights has not been lost on Warriors coach Ivan Cleary.

"It feels like a bloody grand final," the coach said this week.

"It's really important and it's a home game, and the boys are just desperate to get out there and play well."

Working in their favour is Newcastle captain Kurt Gidley's absence as he recovers from a calf muscle strain sustained in Sunday's 20-18 loss to Parramatta.

Warriors skipper Steve Price has been forced to sit out training this week due to the State of Origin swine flu quarantine, but will still make the game.

Cleary has tinkered with the side in a bid to inject enthusiasm and put an end to the slow starts that have become a Warriors trademark.

Joel Moon will sit out after being concussed in his side's 18-10 defeat to Cronulla last week.

Utility Lance Hohaia will play five-eighth to partner Jones as he marks his latest milestone.

Some commentators have already written the Warriors off, labelling the finals hopefuls the most disappointing NRL side.

But Jones said history shows the Warriors can make a last minute comeback.

"You can't count anything out in this competition, but certainly we're going to have to start playing some decent footy to give ourselves a chance," he said.

"If we can string four or five wins together it will put us back in the picture.

"That's what we need to do and we need to do that now, not later."

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