The Saskatchewan Roughriders returned to the field at Mosaic Stadium on Wednesday to begin preparing for Sunday's 54th Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

This will be Zach Collaros' first Labour Day Classic in Green and White.

"It's always an amazing atmosphere here, but it's really revved up for Labour Day and seeing signs around town and all that, I know it's a very special game, as well as the Banjo Bowl, so I'm just really excited to be a part of it, but at the same time, just trying to treat it as any other game," said Collaros after practice on Wednesday.

Saskatchewan is coming off its second straight win last Saturday, 24-21, over the B.C. Lions, which improved the Riders' record to 5-4 on the year.

Head coach Chris Jones feels the team still has room to grow despite their recent upswing, stating that it starts with consistency.

"We've got to do the same things week in and week out," said Jones. "All you have to do is look at Calgary and what they do week in and week out, they keep possession of the football, they play great defence, they make a play in the special teams and don’t give up a play in special teams, so it's just a standard every week that you show up and play, and don't worry about the end result, just worry about the standard and the end result takes care of itself."

The Riders and Bombers enter the game tied for third place in the CFL's West Division with 10 points each. They’re also just two points behind second place Edmonton.

That puts a lot on the line over the next two weeks as playoff position could start to shake out, depending on how the two-game series between Saskatchewan and Winnipeg plays out.

"The old saying in this league is 'The season starts on Labour Day', so obviously this is a very important stretch for us," said Collaros.

"Winnipeg is a very good football team; defensively, they take the football away, I think they're number one in the league at that; they have a great front-four; (Jovan Santos-Knox) and Adam Bighill do an unbelievable job at linebacker, whether it's defending the pass or blitzing; they have an experienced secondary that does a great job in their system, so it's going to be a real challenge for us, but what better way to play against a great team than on Labour Day."

The Riders will have three more days of practice to prepare for what the Bombers will be sending at them. Saskatchewan holds a 35-18 record all-time in the Labour Day Classic, including 12 of the last 13.

They kick-off on Sunday at 1 p.m.