Green and White game closes out Rider training camp

After being away for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Saskatchewan Roughriders held training camp in Saskatoon for the first time since 2019.

There were plenty of highs and lows as a labour deal reared its ugly head in, creating a delay to camp.

But with that deal now complete and ratified, players, coaches and fans are looking forward to the regular season looming just on the horizon.

Training camp wrapped up on Saturday with the Green and White game which gave fans a sneak peek of what the team may look like when the season rolls around.

A lot of starters got to see some action as head coach Craig Dickenson wanted them to get their reps in.

Starting quarterback Cody Fajardo started to get into a groove, throwing the only touchdown of the day to Kian Shaffer-Baker, but he wasn’t supposed to be in as long as he was, according to Dickenson.

“He’s such a competitor, I was going to pull him a little bit earlier but he just wants to play and get in a rhythm,” Dickenson said.

Fajardo completed the day going 12/14, 95 yards and one touchdown.

Even though it was an opportunity for fans to get a closer look, Dickenson didn’t give show his entire hand.

“It was a glorified practice is what it was. But we wanted it to be game-like, so I don’t want to sell the folks short here,” Dickenson said they went through the game-day preparations as a team.

“We told them we wanted to play hard, but we also want to take care of each other,” he added as the team came away from camp without any major injuries leading into the preseason games.

There was one moment in the game where it felt like players were wearing full pads though, as linebacker Alvin Jones Jr. laid a big hit on a receiver.

Luckily no one was hurt in the play and things remained calm.

Quarterbacks were targetting a lot of receivers throughout the afternoon with Dieuly Aristilde Jr., Shaq Evans, Paul McRoberts and Kian Shaffer-Baker catching big passes.

The Riders now prepare for its first preseason game on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in Regina before opening the regular season at Mosaic Stadium on June 11 versus the Hamilton Tiger-Cats

At the end of the day, Dickenson was happy to be back in Saskatoon.

“Love this place. It’s a great town, people are awesome, weather is fantastic, really feels lucky to come here and have training camp,” he said, offering one final message to the city.

“Thank you, Saskatoon for taking care of us out here.”