The latest Nielsen poll for the Sydney Morning Herald shows a two-party preferred swing of 18 per cent against the ALP that would leave it with as few as 13 seats in the lower house of parliament.

That would sweep away its six Hunter seats.

But with strong independent candidates running in a number of Hunter seats, the results are unlikely to be so clear cut.

The ALP is also counting on rusted-on Labor voters to save it in traditionally safer seats such as Wallsend, where its margin is 15.8 per cent.

Some of the incumbent MPs did their best to shrug off the polling yesterday.

Charlestown MP Matthew Morris, who believes his main competition is Liberal candidate Andrew Cornwell, said he thought area issues would decide the seat.

"I don't pay any attention to polls," he said.

Newcastle MP and Hunter Minister Jodi McKay said it was clear the government was "in a very difficult situation".

"Obviously there have been things that the government has done wrong and for those of us watching on, it has been frustrating," she said.

Ms McKay said constituents told her "they like the Premier".

Help from the Hunter's union base with campaign legwork is understood to have been less forthcoming so far this election, with members struggling to get motivated while the party is so far behind.

The NSW government is warning voters not to give the opposition a "blank cheque" at next month's state election, after the poll predicted Labor could be reduced to the size of a rugby league team.

Premier Kristina Keneally admitted yesterday that the government was in for a "tough election".

But, striking a fighting posture, Ms Keneally said she was "going to fight every day until the poll that counts, the poll on the 26th of March".

She also raised the spectre of a Barry O'Farrell government controlling both houses of parliament, saying voters knew nothing about his "real agenda" for the state.

"Imagine if Mr O'Farrell were to be elected with the type of numbers we see today, that would mean a blank cheque ," she said. AAP