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Other than a 42-41 loss to Toronto earlier this season, in which the Redblacks blew a 24-point lead, defence has been a foundation for the team. And Brown said there’s still a lot of room to get even stronger as the season winds down into the playoffs in the next month.

“We understand the defence and we understand that we have to operate as one unit, not as individuals,” he said. “We’ve been making plays, but there’s always room for improvement. It’s crazy; when we watch the film, there are always things to correct, always things we can be better at.”

While the defence is getting high-level production out of several veterans, rookies have also played into the success.

“The game moves fast for these guys in the beginning and has slowed down,” said Thorpe. “You see that with Anthony Cioffi. Not only does he play fast, he has gotten better every game. There’s a lot of motion, there’s a lot of formation adjustment. You have to have the ability to play with good eye discipline, that’s one thing we coach to and it’s one thing these guys are developing. A guy like Randall Evans came in and played halfback, then moved to corner for us. He demonstrated the ability we look for — consistency, being a solid, physical football player and having good man coverage skills. You can also point to No. 42 (Avery Williams) for us. What a job he’s done in there. We really like the things we’ve seen.”

WILL PRUNEAU PLAY? Two days away from a game against Winnipeg, offensive lineman Nolan MacMillan and safety Antoine Pruneau watched as their team practised Wednesday. On Tuesday, Redblacks coach Rick Campbell seemed optimistic both would be good to go Friday. Not so much on Wednesday. Said Campbell: “I’m a little less optimistic than I was about both those guys. I’m not going to tell you they’re not playing — both those guys are capable of doing it. You always have to make sure they’re medically cleared. If they’re cleared and they say they’re ready to go, you’ll always let a guy play.” If MacMillan doesn’t play, look for Jon Gott to line up at guard. If Pruneau can’t go, it could be Zed Brown or J.P. Bolduc at safety. Depending which way they go there, it could necessitate starting a second Canadian receiver, likely Julian Feoli-Gudino.