REGINA — The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts took the field at Mosaic Stadium for their final walkthroughs before the 109th Grey Cup on Sunday from Regina.

Following walkthrough members of each team spoke to the media to share their thoughts ahead of Sunday’s matchup.

109th Grey Cup
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Standout statements from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

“You don’t get a lot of opportunities in this sport to go out there and play and prove yourself. Whether it’s Week 9 or the Grey Cup I certainly feel those butterflies, and some level of anxiety and excitement and all of those things.”

– Zach Collaros on the emotions he feels ahead of Sunday’s Grey Cup game

“I don’t think it’s nerves, I think the interesting thing about a lot of athletes is that their body gets ready. It gets ready to run or to fight, so you get that charge of adrenaline. So I don’t think of it ever as nerves. I think it’s just your body getting ready to tell you to do something.”

– Mike O’Shea on the feeling of nerves before Sunday

“It’s been an awesome atmosphere out here. Just walking around a little bit and getting to shake some fan’s hands around town and see some old faces, has been really awesome.”

– Collaros on the atmosphere of Grey Cup week

“First and foremost you’re not going to outwork him. He’s truly the definition of first one in, last one out. You kind of have to tell him sometimes to just go home. He prepares like nobody I’ve ever been around, he cares so much. I think he has a really good fell for what’s going on in the game.”

– Collaros on offensive coordinator Buck pierce

“He’s got a world’s worth of experience. He’s got the exact style of leadership that his group needs and as the group changes, he still remains very consistent and true to himself and still manages to lead whatever and give whatever that new group needs.”

– O’Shea on Winnipeg defensive coordinator Richie Hall

Standout statements from the Toronto Argonauts

“He’s a champion, I think he brought that champion mentality. The attributes are all over the place, he’s a great locker room leader, a great man, a great runner of the football, a great guy out of the backfield. He’s got all the attributes, but I think what really makes him special is that he’s got the championship DNA he knows what it takes to get there, he has a vision of what that looks like and he brought those expectations with him.”

– McLeod Bethel-Thompson on Argos running back Andrew Harris

“The great thing about our team is we’re not afraid to challenge our brother, we’re not afraid to fight with our brother, we’re not afraid to get into your face. You don’t have to always have the easy conversation. The beginning of the season didn’t go exactly how we wanted to, but we made a commitment to each other. We saw a vision, we saw what we could become and it’s so great to get to this point and it all hinges on (Sunday) night. If we come together to be the team we thought we could be it would be a beautiful sight.”

– Bethel-Thompson on what makes the 2022 Argos special

“They don’t make mistakes, that’s one thing they don’t do. They’re a veteran group, they know how to play together, they’ve been in the stage before. I tell our guys, we’re built for this too. We’ve had a lot of adversity, we’ve come together.”

– Ryan Dinwiddie on how he feels his team matches up with the Blue Bombers

“I’m a big visualization guy, so I’ll be visualizing tonight, going through the call sheet to kind of expect what we expect tomorrow and put your feet up and relax and get excited for the next day.”

– Dinwiddie on his preparation the night before the Grey Cup 

“I can’t get too excited, that’s one thing you have to be as a pro. You have to hone in your excitement and channel it in a focus where you’re dialed in and you’re not trying to do to much.”

– Andrew Harris on managing his emotions before the game

“I was running around just trying to set a tone and attitude and energy, just have fun with that. This is was our last practice as a team (Friday). I just wanted to go out there and have fun and enjoy it. So that’s my own little way of leading by example and having some fun out there.”

– Harris on embracing the cold weather

“(Muamba) is kind of that sounding voice for that side, keeping everyone kind of at bay and calm and collected. He’s a guy that can break a game open, he just makes those plays consistently. I have tons of respect for (Muamba).”

– Harris on the leadership of Toronto linebacker Henoc Mumaba