Paul Cullen on rivalry between Warrington Wolves and Wigan Warriors

And being Warrington born-and-bred, and having played and coached against the cherry and whites, he is best placed to be able to.

When the Wire legend was playing the game - in the early days at centre or stand-off before converting to the back-row in the 1990s - big matches against Wigan came thick and fast.

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If the Easter Monday and New Year's Day bash-ups were not spectacular enough, there were regular duels in semi-finals and finals of the Lancashire Cup, Regal Trophy, Premiership Trophy or Challenge Cup.

More often than not in the big knockout games, Wigan won.

It was a dominant period for Wigan, the only full-time professional club in the sport and they attracted and bought big-name players with big reputations that usually were met.

It seemed also for a time that if you played for Wigan you then went on to play for Great Britain.

Facing Wigan, then, was a grudge match, a test of your own standing, a challenge to be met.

Cullen, a hard player in a hard era, wasn't one to turn down a challenge and prove his capabilities.

"I spent all year waiting for the Wigan fixtures home and away," says the ex-Wire skipper in a video produced by the club to promote tonight's eagerly anticipated 2018 Grand Final re-run at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

"The rivalry was intense, I generally thought more from us towards them than the other way round and it was all about respect."

He added: "I neither liked them or disliked them, but if we didn't respect them then we were going to get beaten...and we were going to get beaten badly...and we were going to get hurt."

Coaches' approaches were different then, considered 'old school' now.

"I can quite clearly remember being given a specific instruction," said Cullen, who pulled on the primrose and blue shirt 350 times between 1981 and 1996.

"If Joe Lydon scores today you won't ever play for Warrington again - coaching techniques of the day. Joe Lydon didn't score.

"You couldn't really outplay him because he was too good.

"If you weren't that good, if you weren't that skilful, if you weren't that tough, we wouldn't have been that bothered. But you were, so we had to be.

"You can't take that 1970s, 80s, 90s mindset into the 2000s when working as a coach.

"And I kind of created Wigan Week and I built it into our programme."

Cullen, in charge of The Wire from 2003 to 2008, explained: "We'd look at our schedule in pre-season and we literally wrote it on the board, where we'd play Cas away, Hull KR away, Wakefield at home - all significant fixtures - but Wigan had a big red ring around it. It was circled.

"If you didn't know, we were going to absolutely hammer you that you do know that Wigan Week is a special week."

Nothing's changed.

And current head coach Steve Price has quickly learnt since his arrival from Australia what it means to the town for Warrington to beat Wigan.

If anything, the rivalry in recent times has stepped up another level on the back of The Wire losing three Grand Finals to their great rivals in the space of six years - the last one in October.

"I think they're been tougher for the last 10 years or so and that's the lesson learned from the Grand Final," said Cullen.

"Physically, mentally, you have to be more aggressive, more determined to stay in the fight, be prepared to go that extra one percent effort that's going to get you across the line.

"It'll come at some point. It'll only come when we're good enough and we're tough enough."

Picture: Eddie Whitham