Riders expect Brett Lauther to be ‘full-go’ following onside kick collision

Photo courtesy: Saskatchewan Roughriders

The Saskatchewan Roughriders expect Brett Lauther to make a quick recovery following the rough collision he sustained in the team’s loss to Calgary this past weekend.

“We think he’s going to be OK,” head coach Craig Dickenson told the media on Tuesday. “He’s still a little sore from the game — not so much head, but shoulders and neck. We just held him out for today. We needed to get (global kicker) Henry (Nell) some kicks anyway, so we anticipate Brett being a full-go tomorrow.”

Lauther went a perfect three-for-three on his field goal attempts in Week 9 but shone brightest at the end of the game with a pair of successful onside kicks. The first one was caught by Kian Schaffer-Baker but got negated by a penalty, while Lauther was able to recover the second by himself.

The native of Truro, N.S. collided with defensive back DaShaun Amos while recovering the ball and was injured on the play. Dickenson indicated that Lauther would have been unable to return to the game had the Riders tied the game with a touchdown on their final drive.

Punter Jon Ryan took a few placekicking reps in practice on Tuesday and impressed his head coach, which means he might get a look at kicking coverts if Lauther suffers another injury in the future.

“We almost had to do it in the game, so we thought we better get him a few reps with the hold and he did good,” said Dickenson. “I think he was one out of two. Hit them both good, though. I would have gone for two by the way if we had scored without Lauther in that game, but now that I’ve seen Jon kick maybe I’ll kick it.”

Lauther has connected on 23-of-28 field goal attempts this season with a long of 54 yards. He will look to continue his high level of play on Saturday when Saskatchewan hosts Calgary for a rematch at Mosaic Stadium in Regina.