Pressure remains on Farah

NSW hooker Robbie Farah is confident he can build on his performance in the State of Origin opener and help the Blues level the series on Wednesday.

NSW hooker Robbie Farah is confident he can build on his performance in the State of Origin opener and help the Blues level the series in Sydney on Wednesday.

Farah's place in the side had been questioned before game one in Melbourne after two underwhelming appearances in 2009, but he silenced the critics with a stirring display in the 18-10 defeat.

However, the Wests Tigers' skipper acknowledged that there will be pressure on him to maintain that standard and help ensure the Maroons do not claim a seventh successive series win.

"The last game I'd gone in with a fair bit of criticism and question marks of whether I was up to it," Farah said yesterday. "I had to go out there and answer the critics. This time around, I've got to go out and perform like I did in game one.

"This time around, there's a bit more expectation individually on myself but that's things you deal with week in, week out in footy. I'm confident in my own ability and confident I'll play well."

Farah and halfback Mitchell Pearce have carved out a decent on-field partnership and the 28-year-old hooker said it is vital the combination between the pair and five-eighth Todd Carney clicks on the night.

"We've been working hard on our combination and also our communication," he said.

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