Bombers-Lions tilt anything but meaningless Wolitarsky, Ellingson looking to knock off rust after long injury layoffs By: Taylor Allen Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Monday, Oct. 24, 2022

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This article was published 23/10/2022 (793 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There will be nothing at stake in the standings when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers host the B.C. Lions on Friday night in the regular season finale.

It’s the same situation across the league as the CFL’s playoff picture has already been finalized no matter who wins or loses in Week 21.

Most would classify this week’s contest as meaningless, but don’t use that word around Bombers receivers Drew Wolitarsky and Greg Ellingson. After missing several weeks due to injury, the pair of veteran pass catchers were back at practice on Monday, the team’s first since last week’s bye, as full participants.

“I feel like a rookie coming to play for the first time again,” said Wolitarsky on potentially playing Friday. “I’m hyped up. I’m excited. I hope to get this week to be able to play in the game and get that under my belt again to go into playoffs.”

Wolitarsky has been sidelined since injuring his left knee in the Banjo Bowl. Ellingson had some of the best numbers in the league through six weeks before a hip injury caused him to miss three games. He returned in Week 10 for the loss at home to the Montreal Alouettes, but an injury in practice shortly thereafter put him on the shelf until now.

Ellingson’s 10 missed games are the most he’s had in a season since joining the CFL in 2013.

“It’s always frustrating, especially when you don’t really know how long it’s going to be. But that’s kind of in the past now, right? I’m just happy to be back out here,” Ellingson told reporters on Monday.

“You’re still kind of (involved) when you’re in meetings, in the locker room, doing everything that everybody else does but with treatment on the side. So, you know, I’ve still been in it mentally and now it’s just getting back out here on the field.”

As long as the chance for re-injury is low, you can expect Ellingson and Wolitarsky being out there on Friday to knock off some rust.

The Lions beat the Bombers, who sat starting quarterback Zach Collaros, 40-32 in Vancouver in Week 19. Collaros took some reps on Monday and will likely see limited game action this week.

“It’s professional football. You can’t just get off the couch and do this. It’s too much to do that overnight,” said Wolitarsky.

“You have to build back into it, just like how a sprinter needs to ease back into training to go full speed, it’s just how it is. Your muscles and your body are not used to that impact. And no matter how much Jacob’s Ladder you do or squats you do in the weight room, this is a different beast. You gotta get your lungs right, your legs right, and really, it’s the speed of things.”

Head coach Mike O’Shea said it depends on the player, but in most instances, they’d want a player returning from injury to see some live action on Friday in order to play in the West Division final on Nov. 13.

“Yeah, I think it depends on the guy, but for the most part, we would err on the side of getting them in,” O’Shea said. “I think the shocker is always the fitness level. They try to stay in the best shape as possible… and then you get in the game and go ‘Oh, I still need that.’”

“I think the shocker is always the fitness level. They try to stay in the best shape as possible… and then you get in the game and go ‘Oh, I still need that.’”–Mike O’Shea, head coach

The Bombers haven’t played a game that had something on the line since Sept. 30 when they clinched the West Division regular season crown with a 31-13 victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. There’s no place the 14-3 Bombers would rather be, but the club has had to take some time to think about how they’re going to tackle two byes in three weeks before the West Final takes place at IG Field.

The Lions (12-5) have locked down the No. 2 seed and will host the Calgary Stampeders (11-6) in the West Division semi-final on Nov. 6.

Luckily for Winnipeg, they were in a similar position last year when they clinched the division with three games to spare and went on to hoist the Grey Cup.

“Every situation is different. You have to take each one as it comes,” O’Shea said.

“You don’t lay the plan out and then have variables change and not adjust a little bit, right. You have to be able to adapt the plan and we think we have a good one going in. We’ll see if we have to change it at all.”

There was no talk about Nov. 13 or next week’s bye on Monday. Whether you believe them or not, the Bombers say they’re set on going 1-0 this week.

“We want to win the football game. It’s important to go out there and play your best football and make sure you’re playing the game the right way,” said O’Shea.

“You don’t want to ever have lulls in that where you just go out and go through the motions. I don’t think that’s gonna work. Certainly, it’s not going to allow you to feel good about getting to the playoffs if you do that. There’s one way to play it and that’s what we’re gonna do it.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @TaylorAllen31

Taylor Allen
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Eighteen years old and still in high school, Taylor got his start with the Free Press on June 1, 2011. Well, sort of...

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