Saskatchewan Roughriders head coach Craig Dickenson said earlier this week he didn’t think the heartbreaking loss in the 2019 Western Final to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers would be a motivator for his team saying not having a 2020 season is motivation enough for being on the field now.  Don’t tell that to quarterback Cody Fajardo.

As the Riders get set to head back on the field 628 days after that tough defeat, Fajardo said there is no doubt the end of that game still lingers as far as he is concerned.

“There’s a lot of mental aspect of just sitting on that for two years and not having an opportunity to redeem yourself or go out there and wash that bad taste out of your mouth.” Fajardo said.

With all the hype going into this game, head coach Craig Dickenson says it will be important to not be too hyped up for what is sure to be an emotional contest.

“We talked about that with the team all week.” Dickenson said. “We know there will be a lot of excitement and energy, but we don’t want to come out and spend all our energy in the first quarter.  I think the crowd will fire them up and there is nothing we can do to prevent that so I have told the guys to feed off that energy but stay focused.

After 628 days, Dickenson is ready to get back to work and play a game that it is bigger than others.

“Its bigger than just the opening game of a regular season.  Winning or losing won’t define your season, but having a full house, representing your city and your province well and having a full house and seeing people enjoy being out together are very important.  It’s a big game and it’s a big game for the players who haven’t played for a couple of years.

620 CKRM’s game-day coverage starts at 4:30 with the play-by-play at 7:30 with Derek Taylor and Luc Mullinder.