‘It’s a madhouse’: Jermarcus Hardrick returns to Winnipeg as member of the Riders

Jarmarcus Hardrick knows how tough Princess Auto Stadium can be for opposing teams in Winnipeg.

He was the beneficiary of the crowd noise as a member of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for seven seasons.

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“It’s a madhouse,” said Hardrick, who is now the starting right tackle for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. “It will be just like it was here but flipped over. It’s going to be loud, it’s going to be rocking, it’s going to be a challenge. I’m looking forward to it.”

The Riders won the Labour Day Classic on Sunday by a 34-30 margin and was just the third time in the last 14 games that Saskatchewan had beaten the Bombers.

Saskatchewan will now travel east to take on Winnipeg in the annual rematch, which has now become known as the Banjo Bowl. Kickoff for the game is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.

Winnipeg hasn’t been a kind place for the Riders, with the last few seasons coming to an end there, including last year’s loss in the CFL West Final. The Riders haven’t won in Winnipeg since the Banjo Bowl in 2018 when now Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros was a member of Saskatchewan.

“That noise just like it helps us here, helps them there. Homefield advantage is real and it’s one of those things you have to deal with when you play there,” Hardrick said. “Just getting my turn to go back.”

With the noise expected to be loud at the stadium, Hardrick and the offence are preparing to work on their silent count.

“I always lose sleep over who I am playing but now you’re thinking about the silent count. I won’t get to see Willie (Jefferson) until the ball is snapped,” Hardrick said.

All eyes will also once again be on the play of kicker Brett Lauther, who missed one of three convert attempts in the Labour Day Classic while hitting his only field goal attempt of the game. Lauther has been the worst kicker in the CFL with a 65.7 success rate when kicking field goals.

“Certainly in the totality of the season, not to his standard and not to our standard,” head coach Corey Mace said. “In the same breath, looking at everything he has done and other circumstances, I thought he had a better day. It wasn’t the 100 per cent that everybody is looking for but for him to be able to kick through it and show improvement is what we are looking for.

“We are still looking at what the performance is but we have been lucky enough to still push through and win some football games.”