League legend Andrew Johns warns NSW State of Origin star Anthony Watmough about the seriousness of his neck injury

A WARNING from good friend Andrew Johns about the seriousness of his neck injury has not been enough to sideline bustling NSW forward Anthony Watmough.

A WARNING from good friend Andrew Johns about the seriousness of his neck injury has not been enough to sideline bustling NSW forward Anthony Watmough.

The Sea Eagles back-rower yesterday completed his first contact session since having a cortisone injection in his spine a week ago to help alleviate the pain of a bulging disc around his C5 and C6 vertebrae.

Johns was forced into early retirement in April 2008 with a similar injury. For the past three weeks, he has been in daily contact with Watmough, concerned he was not treating the complaint seriously.

"It's what Joey had, but Joey retired from it," Watmough said, before joking: "I must be tougher. I have had a few good chats to him. Being the mate he is, he was really concerned, especially after the second time. When I told him what it was he said, 'That's what retired me'.

"It was such a good gesture for him to be ringing me every day.

"He offered to call his specialist (Professor John Yeo) and get him to look at me if it wasn't getting right.

"For him to do that was pretty special."

Watmough has battled numbness down one side of his body since suffering the neck injury in round 8 against the Bulldogs. The cortisone injection meant he was unable to train with the side until last Friday.

He is certain he won't be a liability when NSW try to prevent Queensland from winning their seventh straight series at ANZ Stadium on Wednesday night.

"You know me, I need to be in the thick of it," he said. "I copped a few knocks when I shouldn't have copped a few knocks, but there was no pain. If I had copped them a week ago, I would've hit the deck.

"From how the body is feeling, and even how I sleep at night, it's back to what it was before I did the injury."

Having been overlooked by NSW coach Ricky Stuart for game one, Watmough looms as a crucial figure in his return to the side.

Stuart intends to employ him like he did in second match of last year's series, using him in the middle of the field with Watmough's quick leg speed turning the big Queensland pack around.

"That's where I play my best footy," Watmough said.

"If we control the ball and possession, that takes a lot of their strike-power away."

Watmough is one of the few players in the NSW side who remembers what it is like to win an Origin series, having made his debut in 2005.

"I would never have thought it would get to seven series wins for Queensland," he said. "I don't think there's anything between the teams to be honest.

"Our team is as good as theirs. They've got some big superstars but so do we. There are a lot of quality players there, but I wouldn't trade one of our players for theirs."

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