The Saskatchewan Roughriders are introduced during their preseason finale last week against Edmonton. (Photo: Saskatchewan Roughriders)

The long wait is finally over.  The Saskatchewan Roughriders return to the field on Sunday afternoon to start their defence of their 2013 Grey Cup championship.

They’ll open that title defence against the team that they beat for the title with Kent Austin and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats coming to Mosaic Stadium for the final game of Week 1 in the Canadian Football League.

“We’re just ready to go,” said quarterback Darian Durant.  “You’re always eager to get training camp out of the way, so you can get to game planning and watching film on an opponent.  We’re ready to go and I think the young guys are up to speed, so that’s what’s most important.”

The last meaningful game that these two teams played came against each other, but they’ve both underwent a plethora of changes since that 45-23 drubbing in the Grey Cup game at Mosaic Stadium.

There’s been a lot of subtractions from the Riders, while the Ti-Cats have been building up after getting ran over by Saskatchewan during the Grey Cup.

“They went out and got the best of the best in terms of talent,” said Riders head coach Corey Chamblin.  “They found the guys at the tops in their positions and they paid the guys to come in and do a job.  They were in here for the Grey Cup last year and had some ups and downs, but I think this group will be ready to go.”

Hamilton has a change at quarterback with Zach Collaros taking over for Henry Burris.  They’ve also added former Riders safety Craig Butler to man the back of their defence.

While Hamilton was retooling following their humbling defeat in the Grey Cup, the Riders have had to do a slight rebuild after a number of retirements and key players departing their lineup, like Butler to go along with Kory Sheets and Weston Dressler to the NFL.

“I’m excited and intrigued to see what this group is going to be like,” said defensive end Ricky Foley on the offseason changes for Saskatchewan.  “Last year, I kind of knew, but this year, there’s a lot of new pieces that I’m excited to see.”

The biggest changes came on offence where in addition to the loss of Sheets and Dressler, the Riders had to replace Geroy Simon as well.  They’ve turned to rookies to fill those roles with Anthony Allen getting the start at running back for Week 1 and Chaz Schilens, Brett Swain and Ryan Smith expected to fill the gap at receiver, joining Chris Getzlaf, Taj Smith and Rob Bagg.

Durant says he’s comfortable with the receiving group heading into the season, despite the lack of experience.

“They’re coming, coach is doing a good job of putting those guys in positions where they don’t have to think as much and just make plays,” said Durant.  “At the end of the day, they’ll be ready come Sunday.”

Smith, who’s listed second on the depth chart behind Swain at one slotback spot entering the game, says he’s looking forward to his first regular season CFL action.

“That’s what you work for during training camp and preseason is to make the team and look forward to working that first actual regular season game, so it’s going to be a lot of fun,” said Smith.

“We’re going to come out to work every single day and coach is doing a really good job of sending the message that we now need to take our game to the next level.”

Replacing the yards put up by Sheets last season — 1,598 rushing yards — won’t come easy, but the Riders feel that they have the backs to do it with Allen and Keith Toston.  Allen will start Week 1, but it’s a fight for the job that’s expected to continue.

“They’re similar backs,” said Chamblin.  “They both have attributes that are similar to Kory.  They’re different style runners because they’re bigger, but as far as their vision, they have the vision that he had and they have some of the cuts in the back field and stuff like that, but at the end of the day, they’re two different backs than Sheets.”

The biggest thing that the Riders’ running game will have going for them will be that they get to go behind arguably the best offensive line in the CFL.  “Everything begins and ends with the O-line,” said Durant.  “Everything is based on how well they play, so they’re the guys that start the ship over here and it will be no different this year.”

Defensively, the Riders should still be strong.  They have one of the top secondaries in the league, led by safety Tyron Brackenridge and they return the majority of a dominant defensive line from last year.

“Everybody’s vibe is still the same, we’re taking it one game at a time and going out and trying to win each game,” said Brackenridge, who was a CFL All-Star last season.  “We have a good group on the defensive side of the ball and we’re going to go out and prove it week in and week out.”

He’ll get his first chance to do that on Sunday when the Riders and Ti-Cats open the season at Mosaic Stadium.  Kickoff is at 5:00pm.  Check out the Rider Report for more on the game.