Focused Panthers set up camp at Homebush

Penrith finished fifth on the Telstra Premiership ladder to host Saturday afternoon's elimination final against the Warriors but will treat the do or die clash like an away game by staying at Sydney Olympic Park.

The Panthers are located just 30 minutes from ANZ Stadium but are out to emulate last week's victorious away trip against Melbourne and avoid weekend traffic.

Penrith were denied the chance to train at ANZ Stadium on Friday due to wet weather and held their final training session at their Academy grounds in the afternoon.

Panthers coach Cameron Ciraldo had never been a part of a finals campaign as a player, but was on Anthony Griffin's coaching staff during the finals series over the last two years.

He believes shifting the players to the Olympic Park precinct 24 hours before kick-off is the right option.

"I've been around long enough to see enough semi-finals and been involved in the preparation of a few here the last couple of years," Ciraldo said.

"You sort of know what to expect and hopefully our players know what to expect and can lift.

"We're going into Homebush nice and close so we don't get stuck in traffic tomorrow. We had a good camp in Melbourne so I'm trying to emulate that.

"They've been really good, relaxed this week. You can tell there's a lot of energy about them and they've trained well.

"One more session today and hopefully we turn up with a good frame of mind tomorrow."

Both the Panthers and Warriors have traded blows in the regular season with one win apiece, though neither clash involved skipper James Maloney.

Maloney's battle with returning Warriors playmaker Blake Green could be the difference in the sudden-death fixture.

"Blake's probably got a similar influence on their team to what James Maloney has on ours," Ciraldo said.

"Having Blake come back into their side is a big boost and we're going to have to be good to stop him. Only two weeks ago they got one over us, we've got to make sure we're a lot better than that day.

"I've only been watching the ones where they've done really well, that's what we're expecting tomorrow. It's a semi-final and they'll play accordingly."

Meanwhile, Ciraldo confirmed Viliame Kikau had overcome a minor elbow injury and was expected to play.

Despite a poor night with the boot against Melbourne, Nathan Cleary went through his paces with Darryl Halligan on Friday afternoon and is expected to keep the goal-kicking duties.