Saskatchewan Roughriders bench kicker Alex Hale for Banjo Bowl

Photo: Tanner Piper/Piper Sports Photography/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders have officially made a change at kicker ahead of their Banjo Bowl rematch with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Struggling Global specialist Alex Hale has officially been demoted to the practice roster this week, prompting the promotion of Canadian Dawson Hodge. Hale missed two field goals during the Labour Day Classic last Sunday. The first miss came from a distance of 46 yards on the final play of the first half, while the second came from 47 yards in the third quarter.

The native of Gosford, Australia, has made 24-of-32 field goal attempts this season for an average of 75.0 percent. He is one of three CFL placekickers under 84.5 percent this year, alongside Lirim Hajrullahu and Brady Lidster. The latter was cut by the Toronto Argonauts last week.

Hodge played five collegiate seasons at Wilfrid Laurier University, suiting up for 51 games with the Golden Hawks and scoring 419 points over his career. The Coquitlam, B.C., native handled both kicking and punting for Laurier, connecting on 51-of-76 career field goal attempts, including a career-long 49-yarder. He averaged 41.4 yards on 302 punts, with 72 punts landing inside the 20-yard line and averaged 58.3 yards on 258 kickoffs.

The five-foot-11, 180-pound specialist helped lead Laurier to the Yates Cup and Uteck Bowl in 2024. He was named a first-team Ontario University Athletics all-star and a second-team U Sports All-Canadian in 2022.

The 24-year-old attended training camp with the Calgary Stampeders in 2026 and the Riders and Toronto Argonauts in 2025. He appeared in one preseason game for Saskatchewan, converting his lone 31-yard field goal attempt, averaging 64 yards on three kickoffs, and punting once for 48 yards.

Switching out the specialist was made possible by the reacquisition of Global defensive lineman Habakkuk Baldonado, who was signed this week after his release by the Ottawa Redblacks. A key piece of Saskatchewan’s pass rush rotation when they won the Grey Cup in 2025, the native of Rome, Italy, has slotted back into the lineup and provided additional roster flexibility. American defensive lineman Devin Adams has been placed on the practice roster as a result.

The Riders will also make one change on offence, as Canadian receiver Daniel Wiebe (head) has been placed on the one-game injured list. American Shemar Bridges will take his spot in the starting lineup.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders (8-4) will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6-6) at Princess Auto Stadium on Saturday, September 12, with kickoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EDT. The two teams met in the Labour Day Classic last week, where the Roughriders won 32-26 in overtime at Mosaic Stadium.

The weather forecast in Toronto calls for a high of 15 degrees and sun. The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV, and Crave in Canada, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in to 620 CKRM in Regina or CJOB 680 in Winnipeg.

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