FORMER Hull KR coach Justin Morgan has coached in more Super League derbies than anybody else – and has the best record of all.
During his spell in charge of the Robins, he led them to 10 wins out of 16 against the Black and Whites, including three from three at the Magic Weekend.
Here, he tells the Mail how he prepared, selected and motivated his side for the city's biggest rugby league game.
PREPARATION
In the build-up and in the press the week of the game myself and either Peter Sharp or Richard Agar would say it was just another two points but, in reality, it was never just another two points.
You try and play the game down in the press, but internally that would never be the case for me. I knew what the game meant to everyone in the city and we'd always make sure every single one of our players knew that too.
I'd not want derby week to arrive and all of a sudden the pressure just hit the players, so I'd be planting the seed for a long time beforehand.
Even at the start of the season, when the fixtures came out, I'd highlight the derby games to the players so they knew exactly when we'd be playing Hull FC.
I'd want it in the back of the minds of the players, even if it was right at the back.
Then, maybe a month before, I'd bring it up again, then again a couple of weeks before.
I'd only touch on it, we wouldn't make a big deal of it because there were other games to play and win, but it would be mentioned.
Then, when derby week came around, we'd spend the first couple of days after our last game talking it up. After that everyone knew their roles and what it meant and we could focus on training and preparation.
PAST RESULTS
It always depends on where you are with regard to your season and whether you have won or lost the last derby.
If you are going into a derby with back to back losses then you need to focus on a positive and I'd often pull out the tape of the last derby if we had won it.
On the flip side, if you are in a good run of form then you never want to look too far back and the last derby will hardly be referenced. The approach always changes depending on your current situation.
What is important is that despite all the cliches, the last derby result does matter.
If you are the team that loses the first derby of the year, like Hull are this season, then you desperately don't want to go two-nil down in the series, especially when there are only three games that year to play.
It has no direct bearing on the game itself, but it does affect your psyche and certainly impacted on me as a coach in terms of my approach.
Quite often we went into derbies in poor form and when that was the case we would look at what we did well in the last derby and try to replicate it.
TEAM SELECTION
One of the things I always tried to do with my team selection was pick, where possible, local players. I'm not saying the derby didn't mean the world to players like Clint Newton or Scott Murrell, because it did.
But it can never have the same meaning as it does for a player from Hull who has grown up in the city and has lived it. Someone who has their friends and family, everyone they know, looking at them to get a result.
I'm sure it was the same approach at Hull and you only have to look at the performances of Danny Houghton or Lee Radford as evidence for that.
No matter what form they were in, those two in particular always played very well against Hull KR.
I'd not select local players for the sake of it, but if, for example, there was a toss up between Jason Netherton and another player, Jason would win out.
GAME DAY
What is important is to talk to the players who have little or no experience of the derbies to make sure they realise and are prepared mentally and physically for just how intense it is.
I'd spell out to the players that this would be the most intense game they would play all season, save for a play-off clash.
The players have to be ready for what is to come because for 80 minutes there is no hiding place and the opposition will rip into you for every single minute of the match.
In a long season you cannot expect the players to be at 100 per cent every single week. Sometimes as a coach you know they may only be at 80 per cent, and you have to deal with that, but you cannot afford to be at anything less than 100 per cent in a derby.
If we had played Wigan the week before, I'd say to the players that however tough they felt that was, add another 25 per cent, and that's what you can expect from this derby.
I'd often bring people in to speak to the players too.
Whether that be Colin Hutton, Wayne Parker, Stanley Gene, Paul Fletcher or the chairman Neil Hudgell.
Neil always spoke like a true fan, which he is. His passion would have the hairs on the back of my neck standing on end.
What is important is that, despite what you say in the build-up, the players cannot leave the dressing room thinking that this is just any other game, because it isn't.
MAGIC WEEKEND
Whether the game was played at Craven Park, the KC Stadium or in Cardiff, there was no difference for me in terms of our approach or experience.
The changing rooms may feel strange, but once you walk out and that sea of red and white and black and white hits you, it feels no different.
During my time we played three Magic games in Cardiff.
The night before the match, or even on the morning of the game, I'd not put a curfew in place and I had no problem with the players heading out into the city centre.
It gave them a chance to sample the atmosphere and helped take away any feeling that this match was different because it was so far from Hull.
It was important to soak up the atmosphere, to get that big game feeling.
I just hope the RFL have sorted the issue of where the coaches sit during the game.
I remember in the first-ever Magic Weekend the seat given to me saw me sat behind hundreds of Hull fans.
I cannot begin to reveal the colourful language that was sent my way throughout the game, it was an experience, but thankfully I was smiling at the end.
WHAT IT MEANS
As a coach more often than not it comes down to self preservation. I lived in Hull during my entire time at Rovers and living in Hull means you have to do things like go to the shops to get your bread and milk.
There were times when I had to have my head to the ground staring at the floor after a loss.
You want to walk with your head held high with pride.
I understood from day one how important a derby win is for the fans of either side.
I'd often be told by our fans it didn't matter what we did all season as long as we came out on top against Hull FC. I'm sure many Hull fans felt the same.
There's nothing to beat a derby win, but a defeat is very tough.
