ZPA - After copping the full brunt of a Cronulla side whose pride had been dented, NRL premiers St George Illawarra know exactly what to expect at Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

For standing on the other side of the field will be a winless Warriors team staring down the barrel of a third straight loss.

"It's not an easy place to win footy games over in New Zealand and the way they've started the year, 0-2, they're going to be a desperate side, very much like how the Sharks were on Monday night and they out-enthused us," Dragons hooker Nathan Fien said.

"That's pretty much how the game played out, so we're going to have to bring a lot more intensity to the match."

While the Warriors may not boast the likes of a Paul Gallen, Jeremy Smith or Kade Snowden - who all combined to manhandle the Dragons pack on Monday night - the Warriors have more than enough up front to rumble through a depleted red-and-white middle.

NSW Origin backrower Ben Creagh is the only member of the starting pack which took out last year's grand final who will play on Sunday, while the Warriors pack is at full strength.

But they will have to come up with a much better defensive effort than they put up against Wests Tigers last week, when they missed 58 tackles in going down 20-12.

Warriors coach Ivan Cleary admitted that statistic was a concern, although the Tigers' expansive style of play "can make you miss pretty quickly".

"But, you know, stats don't lie," he added.

" ... that's just the type of stat, on the weekend, that you're not going to win too many games with."

The Warriors will welcome back five-eighth James Maloney from suspension, while the Dragons will be without Michael Weyman (groin) and Beau Scott (suspension) on top of long-term injury concern Dean Young (knee).

Doubts also surround the fitness of skipper Ben Hornby (corked thigh), but Fien said the state of his side's mind and not body was of greatest concern.

"Cronulla showed if you bring intensity and spirit to your footy game, you're going to give yourself an opportunity to win and that's what we were definitely lacking on Monday night for one reason or another," he said.

"We're very focused on what we need to do this week ... it's a big game for us, you don't want to be going into this part of the season with a losing record."

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