NSW playmaker Kurtley Beale has hit back at taunts from north of the border, advising the self-styled Queensland entertainers to take a peep at the Super 14 ladder ahead of Friday night's interstate derby.

Reds five-eighth Quade Cooper on Monday fired the first verbal shot of what is traditionally a week of sledging between Australian rugby's two arch-rivals, branding the table-topping Waratahs as "boring".

Beale, though, says there is little glory in defeat and that the Waratahs would cop winning ugly if it meant continuing to look down on the Reds, who sit equal ninth after a one-from-three start to their campaign.

"They can be the entertainers, but they've lost two," Beale said on Wednesday.

"I mean, we might play some boring rugby but it's good to get the three wins plus two bonus points.

"We're just focusing on ourselves. A lot of people can come out and say we're playing a pretty boring type of game, but we're only just getting started.

"(We have) three wins on the trot now and hopefully there's going to be more wins on the trot, and exciting wins."

The five-eighth duel looms as a highlight of the SFS showdown, but Beale said he'd be saving the razzle dazzle for Cooper and focusing on the bigger picture in what he suspects will be another intense, dour affair.

"I grew up watching the State of Origin in league and I kind of class it as one of them matches," Beale said.

"Close games (like these), it's always tough to play an exciting game.

"It's always going to be a hard, tough match; a grinding match and it's just a matter of our boys going out there and sticking to our game plan.

"If we get too muddled up into the state against state thing, things might not go our way.

"You've got to worry about controlling possession inside your own half, getting field position instead of throwing the ball around in your own half.

"Queensland did that a few times last week - they dropped a few balls and that kind of hurt them a bit as well."

Beale and Cooper go a long way back - both as teammates and rivals.

They played against each other at state level as juniors and also spent two years together in the Australian schoolboys team before each made their Super 14 debut in 2007.

Both agree Friday night's clash will provide a good gauge as to how they have developed.

"Me and Quade are good mates and it's always good playing against him," Beale said.

"He's a great player. He was pretty strong on the (Wallabies' spring) tour last year so it's just going to be a very exciting battle. I can't wait.

"With him throwing 30-metre passes, you like to be at the end of them and that's what we're going to look out for this week."

Beale said it was vital to afford Cooper respect.

"But you can't give him too much respect," he said. "If you do that, he'll just run all over you all day."

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