Rugby: New Waratah Barnes is ready to tackle old mates

New Waratah Berrick Barnes can already hear the thundering hooves of his former Queensland teammates, but he won't be asked to divulge any trade secrets about the Reds before the opening in Brisbane tonight.

The gifted playmaker, who is expected to line up at five-eighths, is happy his first encounter with his state of birth will be out of the way straight away and says he knows what to expect for his old teammates.

"I hear they are taking bets on who is going to smash me first," Barnes joked.

While Queensland's passion and desire to beat NSW is legendary, Barnes stressed NSW wouldn't be trailing the Reds in the motivation stakes.

Reds-Waratah matches are traditionally blood and thunder battles not renowned for producing flair and flowery football, but Barnes believed there would be some good rugby played between the inevitable bone bruising hits.

"I can tell you right now, we want to win just as much and we will doing our best to bring some fire to the table as well," said Barnes, who admitted he would feel a few more nerves than usual going into the game.

"I've no doubt there will be some fiery exchanges early, but both teams I think are hoping to use the ball, so hopefully the fans will see a bit of a spectacle."

NSW coach Chris Hickey, who will be tasting Super 14 combat in Brisbane for the first time, hasn't been leaning on Barnes to give up inside information on his former team.

"I think the thing with these games is to keep your focus on yourself rather than worry too much about the opposition, so we're not seeking out any trade secrets from Berrick," he said.

The second season Waratahs coach believed his predecessor Ewen McKenzie would adopt a similar attitude, despite having gleaned plenty of knowledge about the Waratahs from his time in charge of that franchise.

- AAP