The Saskatchewan Roughriders are set to take on the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday after picking up an opening-week victory over the Edmonton Elks
![Roughriders look for second straight win to begin season Roughriders look for second straight win to begin season](https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/leaderpost/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/riders-20240711-07.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=288&h=216&sig=yiX0jezAYUv_NuQIsAqanQ)
Article content
After picking a victory in Edmonton over the Elks in Week 1, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are set for their second straight road game to begin the 2024 CFL season as they will visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Sunday (5 p.m., TSN).
Hamilton, who lost to the Calgary Stampeders in Week 1, has won three straight home games against Saskatchewan dating back to 2018.
Roster changes
Advertisement 2
Article content
After practicing with the starters all week, American Marcus Sayles draws in at cornerback this week for Saskatchewan in place of Canadian Nelson Lokombo, who moves to safety ahead of Jayden Dalke.
To make up for the ratio, Canadian Mitch Picton starts at wide receiver in place of American KeeSean Johnson, who will be a healthy scratch.
Seventh-round draft pick Ajou Ajou will also come onto the roster this week as he makes his CFL debut as a backup receiver.
Also defensively, defensive linemen Miles Brown and Nicholas Dheilly return to the lineup this week while linebackers Jordan Herdman-Reed, Antoine Brooks Jr. and defensive back Kosi Onyeka will sit.
Thurman’s return
Roughriders’ middle linebacker Jameer Thurman is set to face his former team this week.
After starting his CFL career in Calgary, the 29-year-old suited up for the Tiger-Cats last season, where he had 97 tackles and five sacks in 18 games.
Now those former teammates have become this week’s opponents.
“At the end of the day, it’s just another game but of course there is a little more motivation going into those games,” said Thurman, who had five tackles in his debut with the Riders in Week 1. “I’ve got a lot of respect for those guys there and everything.
Advertisement 3
Article content
“I just look forward to going back there and getting a win.”
Dealing with discipline
Penalties were an issue last week for Saskatchewan against the Elks.
The Riders committed six penalties for 84 yards and while the lack of discipline didn’t ultimately cost them the victory, the issue was one of the main things addressed this week by Riders’ head coach Corey Mace.
“We’ve talked about it constantly; we’ve talked about it heavily,” said Mace. “It’s got to stop.
“We got lucky to win a game with things like that happening in the situations that they did. We don’t want to make the game harder than it is.”
Mace said he had conversations with most of the guilty players from Week 1, including guard Logan Ferland, who was given a 25-yard penalty and ejected from the game after striking an Elks defender in the helmet.
“Everybody’s handled it professionally since we’ve had the conversations,” said Mace. “The real answer is going to be what do we look like going into the next game.
“Are we making those same mistakes and if we are then the consequences aren’t hard enough.”
tshire@postmedia.com
Recommended from Editorial
-
Explainer: Why the CFL went away from microchip footballs
-
Roughriders have plenty of weapons in their receiving corps
The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.
Article content