Emotion always plays a part in Anzac Day clashes, but on the brink of becoming the most capped Dragon of all time, this one will hold a little bit more for St George Illawarra skipper Ben Hornby.

Hornby will make his 257th appearance for the Dragons in Wednesday’s traditional battle with Sydney Roosters at Allianz Stadium, surpassing the mark set by St George club great Norm Provan.

No player has played more Anzac Day clashes either, with Hornby to join Matt Cooper in making his tenth appearance in the annual grudge match.

And the veteran halfback knows neither he or his teammates can allow the emotion of the occasion to be too overwhelming.

“When they’re playing The Last Post and the national anthem, you really have got to choke back tears,” Hornby said.

“It’s a great day – if you can keep those emotions in check and try and use them to your advantage, it’s a great day.

“I think it’s the closest thing to a finals game during the season, just with the build-up and both sides wanting to put it all out there.

“You’ve got to run with the emotions that come out and once the build-up before the game’s over you’ve just got to concentrate on the first set.”

The Roosters haven’t handled the emotion too well in recent years, having not beaten the Dragons on Anzac day since 2007.

But they come into Wednesday’s game – expected to attract a crowd of up to 35,000 – equal with the Dragons on eight competition points, having surprised many critics with their success over the opening two months of the season.

Halfback Mitchell Pearce will also be buoyed by his best performance of 2012, having virtually assured himself a NSW Origin jumper with a starring display for City Origin last Sunday.

His opposite Hornby waved goodbye to representative football some time ago, but he’s not ready to do the same to the NRL just yet.

There were suggestions the 32-year-old would hang up the boots at the end of the year – particularly during the club’s unsuccessful pursuit of Melbourne No.7 Cooper Cronk last month.

“They (Dragons officials) kept me informed … it’s about the future and they’ve got to look to the future as well and I fully understand that,” Hornby said of the Cronk chase.

“There was no problems from my end.

“At this stage I’m still going to go around next year – nothing’s changed there for me.

“I want to play as long as I can, as long as I’m contributing.”

Provan, who travelled to Wollongong to address Hornby and the team before their final training session on Thursday, said there was no reason for the Dragons skipper to give it away.

“I hope he keeps going and makes it (the record) harder to be broken by anybody else,” the ten-time premiership-winner said.

Hornby admitted he was humbled to be breaking Provan’s record.

“It’s a huge honour – Norm was such a great player not just for the Dragons but for the entire game,” Hornby said.

“Some of the things he achieved will never be achieved again.”

The Dragons welcome back centre Matt Cooper for the clash, while all seven players involved in the representative games over the weekend are expected to back-up.