Bombers, Riders renew rivalry

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This article was published 04/11/2024 (339 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Saskatchewan Roughriders will write another pivotal chapter in one of Canadian football’s most spirited rivalries when they clash in the West Division Final at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday (5:30 p.m.).

The annual home-and-home during the regular season is one thing, but the tension will be that much greater when these two foes duel for a trip to the Grey Cup for the third time in the last five seasons.

While Winnipeg has won the last two playoff meetings, Saskatchewan enters playing some pretty good ball after knocking off the B.C. Lions 28-19 in Saturday’s West Division semifinal in Regina to set up the fourth contest of the year between the Prairie rivals.

“It’s great for the old Prairie rivalry,” defensive tackle Jake Thomas told the Free Press after Monday’s practice. “I think we knew whatever team came out of Sask-B.C. we were going to be playing a tough opponent, but I think it’s going to be a big game. I think our three games this year were all pretty close — I think if you put the three games together, it’s probably just a few points one way or the other. They’re always a tough opponent.

“These are the games you wait for. These are the fun ones. I’m really excited Sask. has to come here, obviously, so it’ll be great to get to Saturday.”

Winnipeg enters on a high note themselves, winners in nine of its last 10 and fresh off a first-round bye that offered players a chance to lick their wounds and prepare for the most important two-game stretch of the year.

The Bombers and Riders haven’t seen each other in two months, and while there is plenty of familiarity between the two clubs, there is conviction that the Bombers are in a much different place on both sides of the ball than when they last met in the Banjo Bowl.

“I think we’ve gotten better as the season has gone on,” Zach Collaros said of the offence. “Have we arrived? No. But I don’t think you’ve ever arrived at this level. We got to play a clean football game to win.”

Thomas added of the defence: “I think the biggest thing this year is for a few years we had a lot of continuity. We still have a good number of guys that have returned but this year more than ever, we’ve had new guys step up, so I think the biggest thing where we’ve changed since then is just guys’ comfort with the CFL game and I would say our communication has gotten substantially better since midseason.”

The three regular season contests each produced very different results.

The Riders’ lone victory in the season series came in July when they survived a 19-9 decision at home with quarterback Shae Patterson at the helm in place of an injured Trevor Harris. Next came a shootout — with Harris back in the saddle — in the Labour Day Classic that produced 750 yards of offence and eight touchdowns, and resulted in a 35-33 victory for the Bombers.

The rubber match came the following weekend, which saw the Bombers pull off another win in a one-score game, downing the Riders 26-21.

Interestingly enough, the box score — albeit, doesn’t always tell the full story — largely favours the Riders in each game. Saskatchewan has turned the ball over three times to Winnipeg’s four; has scored seven touchdowns to the Bombers’ six, and has out-gained them an average of 377 yards to 309 yards on offence.

So, what will this week produce?

“This time of year, everybody knows each other fairly well. It’s going to be a hard-fought battle and everyone understands the consequences of this game. I think it’s going to be a good, hard-fought contest” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea said.

Another feather in Saskatchewan’s collective cap has been keeping the Bombers’ running game and Brady Oliveira in check for the most part. The Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian finalist has averaged 44.6 yards on 10.6 carries, has failed to score in any of the previous meetings and has been forced to do his damage through the passing game.

With it being the playoffs, Winnipeg will certainly want to get its bell cow going on the ground, but Oliveira assured he’s happy to contribute in other ways.

“I don’t care, man. Whatever it takes. Whatever it takes to get the job done, to get a victory,” he said. “Early in the season, maybe the run game wasn’t going that smoothly, but I can do damage in the pass game, as well, and I’ve shown that lots of times this year.

“Obviously, it’s playoff football, we know what our identity is, but at the end of the day, we got to win by one more point than them so however that’s going to look and whatever it’s going to take to get that done.”

Each of the last two West Final meetings between Winnipeg and Saskatchewan has brought a different set of challenges with it, and members of the Bombers say this week is no different.

On defence, there is respect for Harris’ savvy and underrated mobility within the pocket. On offence, it’s about limiting the opportunities for the Riders’ ball-hungry defence — which produced a league-leading 49 turnovers during the regular season — to make a game-changing play.

Playing a team for the fourth time in a season could also come with its own tests, such as remaining unpredictable, but O’Shea isn’t worried about that.

“I don’t know that if you asked anybody they would say there’s challenges to it,” said O’Shea. “I would never focus on that.

“Certainly we know each other well. It just so happens that the team we’re seeing for the fourth time is also probably the best rivalry going. That probably for the fans adds more to it but I think the coaches enjoy this time of year, pouring everything you got into it.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca

X: @jfreysam