On 1 July 2018, Carney's move to North Sydney was blocked after Carney refused to pay a $15,000 release fee. The Northern Pride who Carney was contracted with demanded that Norths pay the fee which the club refused to do and hoped that a deal could be met between Carney's management team and The Queensland Cup side before the 30 June transfer window closed. Carney spoke to the media saying "I had that option with the Bears but Souths have blocked that, I'm sure something will come up". Carney's blocked move coincided with the departure of Souths contracted player Robbie Farah who spent the first 12 weeks playing for North Sydney.