Brett Hodgson has assessed the enormity of Friday’s Hull Derby clash against Hull KR Sewell Group Craven Park, insisting despite the emotion around the fixture, he side must “play the game, not the occasion.”
The Black & Whites will be looking to make it four derby wins in a row against the Robins on Good Friday – a feat that FC have only bettered once before in their club history.
But the Airlie Birds face a stern test against the in-form Red & Whites on their home patch, with Hodgson explaining his side must enjoy and take in the build-up to the match, but treat the match like any other.
Speaking ahead of the match, Hodgson said: “We need to play the game, not the occasion, but also allow the enormity of the occasion to get us where we need to be mentally while preparing. There’s more to this game than just the performance.
“Having been in this city for around 16 months, it’s clear to me how much this fixture means to our fans, there is a lot at stake. Whether its our chairman, CEO, supporters, staff, sponsors or whoever, everyone associated with the club wants a positive result from this game and we’ll put in the right focus points.
“We need to make sure that those emotions involved with the match don’t overrun us, but at the end of the day, it’s just eighty minutes of rugby league.”
Assessing the enormity of the Hull Derby, Hodgson continued: “Having played in derbies elsewhere, this one is just something else. Those other rivalries doesn’t compare – this is the derby.
“Even comparing it to some of those Sydney derbies I was involved with as a player, the supporters are so much louder, the build-up is more intense, and there’s much more at stake.
“We want our players to embrace the build-up as much as they can – we need training to be as normal as possible, but understand and enjoy what the game is about. It’s all part of that rivalry and part of playing for one of the teams in this city.”
Hodgson also provided an update on the Black & Whites’ injury situation, having named an unchanged squad for the clash against the Robins.
On Carlos Tuimavave, who has only featured for the Airlie Birds once so far this season due to an ongoing calf issue, he said: “It’s a weird situation and we’re trying to understand why it’s taking so long for the injury to settle.
“He ran in Tuesday’s training session so it’ll be a matter of how he recovers from that. We just don’t know if he’ll be ready for Friday’s game. He’ll be in the squad and we’ll make a decision later in the week.”
Hodgson also confirmed that Andre Savelio will be in contention to feature in Friday’s game having recovered from a knock sustained in the defeat to Huddersfield, as well as Jordan Lane who was left out of the squad.
“We picked up a couple of knocks but everyone has come through okay after the Huddersfield game.
“It was an impact injury for Andre – it settled down on the way home from the game, we was just a bit concerned at the time given his history of knee issues but he’s held up okay.
“Jordan Lane will be good to go after missing Huddersfield.”
On Jamie Shaul, who has been missing since FC’s victory over Leeds in March, he said: “Friday will come too soon for Jamie Shaul, but there’s still a chance he could be involved against Warrington. It’s been a frustrating few years for Shaully but hopefully he can contribute over Easter.”
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