Bradford Bulls boss Eamon O'Carroll talks up Keighley Cougars rivalry ahead of 1895 Cup showdown

O'Carroll's side will make the short trip to Cougar Park aiming to book their place in the quarter-finals of the competition.

It is winner takes all after the Bulls matched Keighley's result against Dewsbury Rams, the other side in Group Two.

O'Carroll, who took the reins at Bradford at the end of last year, is viewing the derby as perfect preparation for the Championship season, which gets under way in mid-March.

"It's brilliant," he said.

"I've stressed to the players to be excited about this week.

"We've got some things that we want to work on and a lot of time until we get to the (Championship) games so our build-up is going to be important – but I want them to enjoy it.

"It's exciting. It's my first time in a derby with Bradford as a head coach and my first time going there as well.

"I've heard it's a hostile environment but these are the type of games we want to play in."

The Bulls suffered a chastening 34-6 defeat on their last visit to Cougar Park at the start of last year, although they quickly set the record straight with a pair of resounding wins.

Keighley have since dropped out of the Championship but O'Carroll expects the hosts to be gunning for his team.

"Emotion in games is great but the team that handles it the best will generally come out on top," he added.

"We've got to use our emotion to maximise our performance. Sometimes it can be your worst enemy, which I've seen from some individuals this year. That's human nature.

"I think I have a role to play in that in terms of building the team to a certain level and trusting them that they can take the emotion out of it when the time is right and do their job.

"We want to use that emotion but use it to our advantage."

A former player and coach, Bradford native Noble knows all about the strength of feeling in the area.

O'Carroll has tapped into Noble's local knowledge in the build-up to the fixture.

"He told the players what to expect and what we're walking into but more so what we want to do and the standards we're trying to set," said O'Carroll.

"I thought that was important because I haven't been involved in one of these games. He did a great job of setting the tone for the week."