The Saskatchewan Roughriders are riding high from their Western Semifinal win over the BC Lions on Saturday and have continued that in practice this week as they prepare to take on Winnipeg.

The Riders last faced Winnipeg in the playoffs in the 2021 West Final, which ended in a 21-17 loss to the Riders.

However, the team is looking toward last week’s home playoff victory and the future, not what happened three years ago.

“It’s a confidence that we started in training camp. We talked about it this morning in a team meeting. “Raise your hand if you thought we were going to be there at this point.” Everyone in the room, except for some newbies, raised their hands. Even some of the new guys,” running back AJ Oullette said. “So it’s just a matter of trust across the board.”

“From day one we talked about goals. We set goals as a team and that was to go to the Gray Cup. Obviously, it’s in front of us right now. So, I think the guys are motivated to get there,” added wide receiver Samuel Emilus.

They will have to defeat what has been one of their toughest opponents, especially in recent years, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

This is a team that knows what it takes to advance to the championship game having played in the last four Gray Cups.

“It’s a group of veterans. They’ve kept the same core of guys together since 2019 until now. I mean, you can probably name seven to ten guys that are still there, maybe even more. They just continued to get better and set a standard and an expectation, but it’s our job to go out there and overcome that,” quarterback Trevor Harris told reporters.

“Obviously, they’ve been to the last four Gray Cups, so they have the winning formula and our job is to get there and they’re in our way. So we are going to go out there and play our football,” Emilus said.

Emilus has never won in Winnipeg since his CFL career began in 2022. In fact, Saskatchewan hasn’t won at their home stadium since the 2018 Banjo Bowl. Since then, they’ve gone 0-8, including including the playoffs.

“I mean, there’s a first time for everything, but it’s going to take a lot of preparation, a lot of studying, and a lot of willpower,” Emilus explained.

It will be difficult to calm the crowd since Winnipeg announced that the match was sold out. However, the Riders enjoy the atmosphere. The team spent most of Tuesday’s practice blasting crowd noise through loudspeakers, both on offense and defense.

“I can’t wait. These are the crowds you dream of growing up. You know, “The crowd is going wild, it’s crazy!” “It’s a lot of fun and that’s what it’s all about,” Harris exclaimed.

“You have to accept it and calm it down. It’s the best feeling ever. They are an experienced, intelligent and well-coached football team. I’ve always said I like well-coached teams because I know where they’re going to be,” Ouellette said.

The last time the Riders beat the Bombers in the playoffs was in the Gray Cup in 2007. The two teams have met three times this season and the Bombers won two of those competitions, the Labor Day Classic and the Banjo Bowl. The Riders won on July 19, 19-9 at Mosaic Stadium.

“They made it difficult for us both times we played them and some things where we had the ball in our hands, other things I felt like we gave up opportunities,” Harris said.

Saturday’s Western final will be broadcast on CTV and TSN. Kick-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.