Hull warmed up for their Challenge Cup semi-final in seven days' time by ending their derby day blues against bitter rivals Hull KR at the KC Stadium.

The Black and Whites had lost the last three meetings between the two but forgot the form book to produce their best performance of the season and earn Richard Agar a first derby win of his coaching career.

They will now travel to Doncaster for their semi-final against Wakefield buoyed by their first success of the season over Justin Morgan's men, who remain highly unlikely to reach the play-offs after their sixth defeat in seven games.

Once again though, the occasion was over-shadowed by Paul Cooke.

The Rovers stand-off has dominated the headlines since he controversially resigned as a Hull player to join Rovers 15 months ago and today found himself dropped from the side, adding weight to the mounting speculation that the club are set to terminate his contract.

Cooke's omission, which the club declined to explain prior to the game, also clouded James Webster's absence for Hull. The former Rovers skipper was set to make his Hull debut but failed to receive his British passport in time.

The two sides shrugged off all the talk to produce a stunning opening half that saw them share six tries and end up separated by just a failed Danny Tickle conversion.

Both teams had already gone close as breaks from Danny Houghton and Kirk Netherton went unfinished, before Ben Galea put the visitors in front with 11 minutes on the clock.

The stand-off powered over the line after a slick change of hands between cousins Kirk and Jason Netherton, with Michael Dobson adding the extras in Cooke's absence.

A fine tackle from Ben Cockayne then denied Hull and Tickle an immediate response, although did come on 18 minutes when teenage winger Tom Briscoe crossed for his third try in as many games when he took in Kirk Yeaman's pass.

Rovers bounced back almost straight away when Cockayne bounced over after taking in Dobson's pass, only for Hull to also strike for a second time with a Scott Wheeldon try on the back of a fine break from Shaun Berrigan.

With both sides seemingly unable to defend a set without conceding, Rovers duly took the lead again when Cooke's replacement Chaz I'Anson touched down after Dobson threaded a deft kick behind the Hull line, only for Yeaman to snatch his 12th score of the year shortly before the break.

The scoring sequence was broken five minutes after the interval as Hull went ahead for the first time, with Jon Steel spilling Danny Washbrook's kick straight into the hands of the waiting Graeme Horne.

A tremendous tackle by Peter Cusack on Peter Fox then earnt Hull the possession just five metres out and with it they produced the try of the game for winger Matt Sing.

Tommy Lee, returning after a six-game lay-off through injury, sent a wonderfully weighted flat kick above the visiting defence and Sing completed the move with a towering jump above Steel to score. Tickle slotted the goal for a 10-point lead.

Hull were in complete control of the play by now with Lee and Berrigan outstanding in their dictation of the play, and the latter highlighted that with a stunning lay-off for Yeaman who grabbed his second try of the match.

Briscoe then raced the length of the field leaving five Rovers chasers in his wake for his brace as the floodgates opened, with Craig Hall completing the rout in the final minute.