Bombers convinced Roughriders faking injuries

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This article was published 08/09/2017 (2953 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Are you ready for Stall-gate, part II?

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are convinced the Saskatchewan Roughriders faked injury at least three times in order to slow down Winnipeg’s no-huddle, uptempo offence during the Labour Day Classic game in Regina on Sunday.

The Riders, meanwhile, insisted the injuries were real.

Winnipeg tailback Andrew Harris was undeterred, taking matters into his own hands following the game. 

“I texted one of the (Roughriders) guys and said, ‘Make sure you get your electrolytes in,’” Harris said on Friday, making a sly reference to hydration plans Saskatchewan defenders might be making for today’s Banjo Bowl grudge match at Investors Group Field.

“So hopefully they get the Pedialytes and electrolytes in and we can get our hurry-up (offence) going. If not, that shouldn’t define us winning or losing a game. We’ve gotta be more successful in other areas.”

What response did he get from the unnamed Rider?

“He just gave me the big lookie-eye emoji, so I don’t know what that means,” Harris said with a sly grin. “He might have snitched on himself.” 

Winnipeg O-lineman Travis Bond seemed prepared for another round of stalling tactics.

“I mean, if that’s part of their game plan, good luck with that,” Bond said. “Because we’re still going to come out with a game plan, ready to play football, ready to go. We might hit them with some tempo (offence), we might not. It just depends on how the flow of the game goes.”

RAISING THE ROOF

Harris took to Twitter earlier this week, imploring Winnipeg fans to outdo the noise generated at Mosaic Stadium for the Labour Day weekend game in Regina. The Roughriders’ faithful registered 104 decibels and Harris is hoping the sound at IGF will reach 110 decibels.

“Absolutely, yeah, the more the merrier but you want to be loud in here and I think we’ve got it in our fans and in our crowd,” Harris said. “So the challenge is out to them.”

Bond, meanwhile, anticipates a big effort from the home crowd.

“It will be a factor because we have a lot of fans,” Bond said. “We’re looking forward to our fans being part of the game and they gotta deal with the noise this week. I feel we handled it pretty well last week in Saskatchewan. But this week, they’ve gotta deal with it, so good luck going against the loudest fans in the CFL.”

RIVALRY GAME

Rookie Winnipeg cornerback Brandon Alexander is enjoying the fierce CFL rivalry between Winnipeg and Saskatchewan.

“Here it’s the family, the tradition and on (the Saskatchewan) side as well, they have the same thing,” Alexander said. “The fact that they really, really hate each other… Coming from college, I never had a game this significant (during) the season. This is the fourth time we’re playing them, including the pre-season.”

ROSTER MOVES

Saskatchewan running back Cameron Marshall (knee) and receiver Nic Demski (foot) have both been placed on the club’s six-game injured list.

The Riders have now have 17 players on their six-game list. Winnipegger Kienan LaFrance, a University of Manitoba grad, signed as a free agent in the off-season and will get his first start of the season. Caleb Holley, a healthy scratch for the past four games, slots in to replace Demski, another U of M product.

“It’s kinda reminiscent of last year,” said Saskatchewan general manager and head coach Chris Jones of his club’s injury woes. “Hopefully, our guys can continue to rise to the occasion. It’s not something we’re proud of. We’d rather have the guys we started the year with. The guys we have on our roster right now are playing at a high level.”

PARTY TIME

The CFL is expected to announce today that CFL Week, a league extravaganza that includes the draft combine and fan expo, will be coming to Winnipeg next spring. The inaugural event was held in Regina last March. 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14