Todd Carney's manager has slammed the Canberra Raiders chairman for expressing concerns that threatened to block the sacked NRL star's planned comeback.

David Riolo said it "smacked of hypocrisy" that Raiders boss John McIntyre spoke out about Carney working and living at a hotel as part of a deal to launch his comeback in bush footy.

The Atherton Roosters - who play in the Cairns competition - pulled off one of bush footy's biggest coups by signing the ex-Canberra playmaker earlier this week.

However, the Queensland Rugby League could not register Carney until they received a Canberra clearance - a move that appeared in jeopardy judging by McIntyre's stance.

McIntyre had labelled the Roosters "boofheads" for setting Carney up at a country hotel and claimed the arrangement would test the fallen star's "'won't'-power rather than his willpower".

Carney was dumped by Canberra and deregistered by the NRL last August following a string of alcohol-related indiscretions.

But Riolo fired back at McIntyre, claiming they had not heard from the Raiders boss since Canberra sacked Carney.

"It seems he has not been concerned about Todd since then," he told AAP.

"John McIntyre didn't have the courtesy to wait around and tell Todd he had been sacked (last August), he left that to (Raiders CEO) Don Furner - he (McIntyre) went off to have lunch or something.

"John is good for a quote, he just likes his name in the paper."

Riolo added: "They say they have been looking after him since he was 14 but no one represented the club at his (Carney's) father's funeral, that was just two months after he was sacked.

"And it's ridiculous that they are concerned about him working at a pub - there are pubs everywhere, it's no different.

"Besides he got in more trouble while he was at the Raiders so I don't know what they are on about."

Riolo believed Carney had emerged from a traumatic period a better person and would embrace his bush footy stint.

"He's had some traumas in his life, his father has died, he's copped it continually in the press but he wants to turn it around," he said.

"He's worked with disadvantaged children at Rwanda, he'd been training with local teams at (hometown) Goulburn, he wants to work with juniors at Atherton and in the Cairns District Rugby League competition.

"He wants to do something for grass roots footy.

"This (Atherton deal) is great news for him. He can play footy again and start the long road back hopefully to the NRL."

Riolo admitted it was "immensely unusual" that Carney would start his comeback in bush footy.

"But the whole situation with Todd is unusual," he said.

"However, I believe this will be really good for him."

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