Riders winding down training camp, preparing for regular season
With no pre-season in 2021 the Green and White game is the closest the Saskatchewan Roughriders will get to a game-like scenario before their season kicks off on Aug. 6.
The scrimmage simulated gameplay and the players were able to get something out of it, the team's coach said.
“It brought an awareness to our conditioning level, and when I said to the team ‘we’re not ready to play a game yet’ it wasn’t meant to be an insult or a negative, it’s just reality,” Head Coach Craig Dickenson said.
He said the players were able to grow by getting a better understanding of the pace and speed, which he believes will help them next Friday against the BC Lions.
Overall, Dickenson is pleased with the team and thinks they have a “good core group of players.”
The final roster is just days away, and there are some positions up for grabs.
A starting offensive tackle position is wide open.
“I need to see some physicality from our offensive tackle position… that’s something I’d like to see,” said Dickenson.
A returner position is also available. Dickenson said it’s hard for returners to stand out in practice, so it’s likely they’ll dress different players over a few weeks.
Both returning and new players are feeling the pressure of making the final roster.
Jordan Williams-Lambert is looking to finish strong after returning to practice today due to a hand injury sustained earlier in camp.
“[I’m] just finding a way to get my name out there as much as I can it’s been unfortunate that that’s been the case, but you know that’s uncontrollable, and I look forward to focusing on the things I can control, which is doing my job at a high level,” said Williams-Lambert, wide receiver for the Riders in 2018 and 2019.
Newcomer DeMarquis Gates is also looking to secure his spot on the team these final few days of camp.
“Hopefully what I’ve been doing in practice and stuff impress the coaches and hopefully gets me on to that last roster so I can make some plays in the real games and show you all how I really play football,” said the linebacker.
In Dickenson’s eyes, the Riders have had a competitive camp and in the final week, he is looking for guys that flash both on film and in practice.
“I wanna see a couple guys make some plays, and if they do that they’ve got a chance of solidifying their spot or possibly making us change our mind here in the last few days,” said. Dickenson.
He said the player will have to maintain their health and make some tough decisions to be ready for the season.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.