'Frustrated': Riders return to practice following Labour Day Classic loss

The Saskatchewan Roughrider’s 35-33 loss in the annual Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers marked the team’s sixth straight game without a win.

“We’re frustrated for sure. Looking for some payback, you know, they came into our house and did that and we have to go into theirs and do the same,” said offensive lineman Logan Ferland following practice on Wednesday.

“We’re as frustrated as you can get as a competitor. If you’re not mad about the situation then we have a problem. We’re all competitors in here and we all want to win. So you have to get mad, have to have some kind of fire lit under you and go out there and play that much harder,” added his teammate, KeeSean Johnson.

The team has still not won a game since Week 7 against the Bombers and have since lost five of their last six, with one tie. Of the five losses, four have been decided by four points or less. Despite the feelings of frustration for the recent winless streak, the team is using that frustration to motivate them and turn the tides.

“The priority is to keep things positive, keep things happy. We still want to harp on keeping the mood up because when everything’s caving in around you, when guys focus on the negative, that’s when it gets into trouble. And that’s what we’ve seen in the past,” Ferland explained.

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Ferland could be referencing the last two seasons where the team ended with seven game losing streaks in both years and failed to clinch a playoff spot. But this season the West Division is a lot tighter and despite their 5-6-1 record, the team only sits one point out of first in the West.

A win against Winnipeg this weekend would secure the season series against them. But down the stretch, the team has five western opponents in their final six games of the regular season.

“The reality is we still have games to play in this season and the reality is if we handle business, we put ourselves in a really good position to attain a lot of things that we looked to attain as the season starter. So everything we still want is still in reach and still in our control,” said head coach, Corey Mace.

“We know what we have in our locker room. We know what we have with our coaching staff, everyone in this building knows what we have. Now it’s just going out there and executing the little things and going what we can,” Johnson added.

On the injury front, offensive linemen Peter Godber [ankle] and Zack Fry [elbow], as well as receiver Dohnte Meyers [shoulder] are expected to miss the game this week as all three did not practice on Wednesday.