3 minute read

Queensland players are on high alert and predicting NSW pivot Todd Carney will finally live up to the hype in next week's Origin II in Sydney.

Fears of a Todd Carney-led NSW backlash have placed Queensland on high alert ahead of next week's Origin II clash in Sydney.

The Dally M Medallist failed to live up to the hype on NSW debut in the controversial 18-10 Origin I loss in Melbourne but a wary Maroons expect the real Todd Carney to stand up in game two.

And Queensland forward Nate Myles - Carney's ex-Sydney Roosters teammate - believed just one half of polished football from the young pivot could turn the tables on the all-conquering Maroons.

Headlines may have centred on NSW's bulked-up pack for Origin II or the fallout over game one's refereeing but Carney was the hot topic in the Queensland camp when it assembled in Brisbane on Tuesday.

Few players had gone into an Origin game under as much pressure as Carney, labelled everything from the Blues' saviour to the X-factor, prior to the series opener.

It may have proved too much for the pivot in game one - but Myles has told Queensland teammates that won't be the case in Sydney, and he should know.

At the Roosters, Myles watched the once controversy-plagued Carney bounce back time and again, and predicted it would be no different next Wednesday.

"He is one of those players where only half a good game can get his side a win," Myles told AAP.

"We know how good he is. He's a terrific player.

"Just watching him play last night (for Cronulla against the Eels) it is kind of scary the speed at which he can cover the ground.

"He knows the standard he has to be at. That's why he is a Dally M Medal winner."

Queensland flyer Brent Tate has feared lining up against Carney in Origin since being his 2010 Four Nations teammate.

"I left that camp thinking 'this guy could be bloody anything'," said Tate, a veteran of 16 Origins.

"One thing I know about Origin, after you've had the first one you get the nerves out of the way and he has done that now.

"And I just know the type of player he is - I've got enormous respect for Todd Carney."

Queensland backrower Sam Thaiday did not savour the prospect of a vengeful Carney backed by a pro-Blues crowd.

"One hundred per cent he will (perform better in game two)," he said.

"I'm sure after that first game he's learned a thousand things to throw at us in Sydney where he'll have the fans in his corner this time."

However, Meninga believed his side could play better in game two after unveiling an unchanged 17-strong team on Tuesday as they looked to seal an unprecedented seventh straight series.

"Our execution can be better. But our attitude and commitment was at the right level (in game one) - it had to be to win the footy game," he said.

Uncertainty over prop Matt Scott (family illness) prompted Meninga to name Broncos backrower Corey Parker as 18th man.

Canterbury fullback Ben Barba completes the extended 19-strong squad.

Lock Ashley Harrison is battling a groin complaint but Meninga was confident he would play.