Roughriders facing a CFL season of ‘Great Expectations’

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“Great Expectations” is more than a Charles Dickens novel.

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It could also be the Saskatchewan Roughriders’ catchphrase for the 2025 CFL season. Following an impressive 2024 campaign — a 9-8-1 regular-season record and divisional final appearance accomplished with a new coaching staff and rebuilt roster — the Roughriders opened training camp Sunday in Saskatoon amid great expectations for the resurgent franchise.

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“We were talking about it being our time — Saskatchewan Roughrider time,” said running back A.J. Ouellette following the first workout of his second training camp with the Roughriders.

“But it stays in the locker room. We know how we need to get better. We can come out here and perform and look good for the fans, but once we go in to the meeting room it all has to be corrected.”

The opening of training camps typically sparks league-wide discussions about Grey Cup favourites, separating contenders from pretenders, and deep analyses of each team’s roster by sports networks, CFL pundits, newspaper writers, bloggers and gambling sites.

“Probably from the outside in,” said offensive lineman Jermarcus Hardrick, who also joined the Roughriders last season as a free agent, when asked if there was more expected this season from his team. “From last year, we still expect the same.

“Last year we expected to go and get it done. This year we expect to go and get it done. But this year we’re a little bit more familiar with each other. We love each other a little bit more. We know how to push each other a little bit more. Last year was like, ‘I don’t know you as much; I don’t want to step on your toes.’ Now I know your kid’s name, I know what you like to eat, I know your why. And all that stuff matters.”

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All CFL teams adjust their rosters during the offseason because they lose players to retirements, releases and free agency. But a thorough perusal of preseason prognostications indicates the Roughriders may have done the best job of retaining key veterans and adding game-proven talents like quarterbacks Jake Maier and Tommy Stevens, defensive linemen Mike Rose and Shane Ray, offensive linemen Sean McEwen and Philippe Gagnon and cornerback Tevaughn Campbell.

It’s an informal survey, of course, but the Roughriders seem to be the odds-on favourite to win the West and advance to the Grey Cup. That’s also what they wanted to accomplish last season, despite the rarity of a reworked organization challenging for a championship.

“The expectation, I think, is the same for us as it is for every team,” said second-year head coach Corey Mace, “You know, you want to win the last game of the year. That’s just kind of a broad thought, but we’re very narrow-focused.”

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The Roughriders were coming off two non-playoff seasons when Mace was hired, bringing along an untested coaching staff to overhaul Saskatchewan’s roster and implement new offensive and defensive game plans. Was it realistic for the Roughriders to immediately consider themselves as Grey Cup challengers?

“Yeah, I believe so,” said Mace. “You’ve seen it done a couple times throughout league history.

“And certainly if you were in the locker room … after that last game, how the guys reacted and everything else, you understood that it was a reality in our minds.”

Despite everything that was supposed to hold them back, the Roughriders got within one game of qualifying for the Grey Cup before losing the West final 38-22 to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Their catchphrase last year was “Don’t flinch!” Coined by veteran quarterback Trevor Harris, it seemed appropriate having it emblazoned on players’ wristbands.

After Sunday’s initial workout as the Roughriders began their two-week camp in Saskatoon, in his first full media scrum of 2025, Harris was asked if there was a new mantra.

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“Not yet,” said Harris, “I told the guys we’ll do it when we get back to Regina.

“Maybe the social media team can film that and we’ll deliver the news there. I want to get the fans involved a little bit this year and see if we can make an extra 10,000 wristbands, sell them in the team shop and donate every dollar to the children’s hospital here in Saskatoon or some sort of good cause.”

It’s a tale of two cities, Regina and Saskatoon, and maybe “Great Expectations” isn’t catchy enough to print on a wristband. But it’s not fiction.

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