Canberra have kept their slim NRL finals hopes alive and rubbed salt into the slumping Warriors’ wounds by inflicting a 36-16 NRL drubbing on the hosts in Auckland.

While performing with far more energy and drive than in last weekend’s capitulation to bottom-placed Newcastle, typical blunders and poor try-line defence cost the Warriors dearly on their home patch as they fell to a sixth straight defeat.

They stayed in the hunt until the 60th minute, when – down 18-10 – tries to Raiders right-edge duo Joey Leilua and Jordan Rapana killed off the contest.

Nick Cotric then added insult to injury, before young second-rower Isaiah Papali’i nabbed a Warriors consolation try with a minute to go.

Backing up solid wins over the Rabbitohs and Sharks, the Green Machine’s 20-point victory – six tries to three – keeps them within four points of the eighth-placed Cowboys.

They must win their final three matches against Penrith, Newcastle and Melbourne to have a chance sneak into the top eight.

The Warriors’ finals hopes, however, are long gone – with Sunday’s match marking their worst loss of the season to date.

Two trademark gaffes bookended the Aucklanders’ first stanza in relentless drizzle, with the Raiders heading into the break 18-6 ahead.

For the first, centre Solomone Kata got on the end of an Ata Hingano grubber, only to lose the ball and injure his shoulder while grounding – and then watch on in horror as winger Cotric broke down the left to score in the next play.

Tries to Jarrod Croker and Blake Austin followed, sandwiching a David Fusitu’a effort, before Hingano tumbled over with the tryline begging near half time.

Likely handed a rocket by coach Stephen Kearney in the sheds, the Warriors turned the screws with repeat sets of six in the early second half.

But, barring a well-worked Roger Tuivasa-Sheck try down the left, the Warriors couldn’t break through before letting the floodgates open to the Raiders.