Manawatu Turbos coach Jason O'Halloran believes it has more to do with wearing the underdogs collar when compared with neighbours Bay, as they prepare to host the Magpies tomorrow at 7.35pm in the Championship final to see who earns the bragging rights to promotion to the top-tier Premiership of the ITM Cup rugby next year.
But it begs the question of who are the favourites after the Turbos trounced the Hawke's Bay Magpies 29-3 on October 5 at the FMG Stadium, keeping the visitors try-less.
Not only that, Manawatu are the top qualifiers in the Championship competition with just two losses in a memorable season.
"We beat Hawke's Bay but they are a more experienced side when it comes to big games," says O'Halloran after coming off a so-so semifinal win at home over the Southland Stags last Saturday.
"We'll come second if we play like that again against Hawke's Bay," he says although he derives a sense of satisfaction from the semifinal as "any win's a good win" in national provincial championship (NPC) rugby.
But the Craig Philpott and Danny Lee-coached Magpies know all about scratchy performances, albeit it with a remarkable ability to find themselves on the right side of the ledger when it mattered most.
Avenging a loss to the Northland Taniwha in the semifinal in Napier last Friday, the Ranfurly Shield holders have shown this season they have the fortitude to rise above any deductions based on previous results or suggestions they may find themselves in a mind swamp.
The 54-cap former Hurricanes and one-cap All Black concurs: "We're not going to read much into that game [29-3 win over the Magpies] at all because Hawke's Bay were playing their third game in eight days."
A hint of paranoia, as one would expect come finals footy, is apparent when asked if the home ground will offer the Turbos better traction.
"I hear rumours of two and a-half to 3000 supporters might be coming here from the Bay."
For the record, some drizzle is forecast tomorrow morning. It's fair to say wet conditions took some gloss off the hosts' flair in the semifinal although it should be a relatively dry but wintry 13C tomorrow night.
That the visitors have won only once on the road - Counties-Manukau 27-21 for the shield - doesn't cut it with O'Halloran either.
Subconsciously, one can argue, it is a snapshot of the Magpies' mindset on making the Log o' Wood a priority with a fortress mentality at home.
Rain or not, O'Halloran is adamant they won't let their guard down.
"We played too much rugby in the first half [against Southland]," he says, adding that if his troops take the same route the Magpies will punish them.
It's not as if the Callum Gibbins-skippered Manawatu are shy of incentives in chasing their first piece of silverware in 34 years when the likes of All Blacks Frank Oliver and former Magpies coach Mark "Cowboy" Shaw were in the 1980 outfit that etched their name on the first-division NPC title.
Their only other bragging rights came in a composite form in the mould of the Central Vikings (Manawatu-Hawke's Bay) consortium which won the second division in 1988 before becoming defunct.
Hooker Rob Foreman, playing his 100th game, will provide further impetus to the collective.
Apart from prop Ma'afu Fia under a concussion cloud, O'Halloran has no injury concerns with Bay's Tim Cadwallader likely to slide on to the bench.
Just as the Magpies are banking on fullback Richard Buckman, the Turbos will wait to confirm Fia's availability today.
Turbos fullback Nehe Milner-Skudder, on the other hand, is promising to ignite their backline much to the bucket heads' delight.
