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The anticipation will build later this week, and intensify Sunday once the next opponent is known.

When I was a general manager, I always found rest and little time on the field was the best approach for this week.

I never really bought into practising for two days while using, say, a “what if it’s Winnipeg?” approach before turning the attention to “what if it’s Calgary?” for the rest of the bye week.

The players had as much interest in partaking in those practices as in watching a tree grow.

Film work and game plans are put together during this time, allowing for both possibilities, because that will save the coaches time. They can then delete the losing team’s data on Sunday and be ready to go for practice the next week.

Photo by Brandon Harder / Regina Leader-Post

The most challenging aspect of this week from the GM’s chair was getting ready for the possibilities that your staff and players could be faced with shortly after the division final.

Will your club be getting ready for charter flights to the site of the Grey Cup? What about tickets for family members? Hotel plans?

Or, will there be a sombre exit meeting the day after the division final?

None of this is talked about publicly at the time, but it has to be considered internally.

The good news is that some teams would relish the opportunity to have to make those choices and deal with those matters, tentative as the plans may be.

Sunday’s West final, between the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers, will dictate the scenario with which the Roughriders are presented.