By: Riley Pollock – 11.01.24
The Riggers are getting to the point they want to be at as a team but there is still plenty of room to grow.
The Roughnecks sit 1-2 heading into their fourth game of the season Saturday night in Vancouver (TSN+). The squad got things on the right track with a 17-11 drubbing of the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in the Home Opener on Dec. 30.
Riggers forward Tanner Cook says he’s starting to see the progress the group is looking for.
“I think we’re slowly getting there, putting our best game forward,” he explained. “I think the first two games we struggled with it in the second half but in the third game of the season in the Home Opener I think we’re getting there. I think we have a lot of room to improve but it helped us out being at home with a packed house and everyone cheering loudly for us. It gives us that little bit of an extra edge.”
“We want to be the best we can be going into playoffs so we’re OK with it being a little bit of a work in progress early in the season.”
Ten different players scored for the Riggers in their win including three defencemen. Cook says their ability to get scoring from everyone is a huge key to the team’s success.
“I think that is what makes our team so deadly,” said Cook. “We don’t rely on one person to score all of our goals. We’ve got defensive guys scoring, we have offensive guys scoring by committee. Everybody is producing and everyone is bringing that unique style to the game in order for us to win.”
It’s been tough for the Riggers to stay consistent during the start of the season as they are already coming out of their third bye-week with just three games played. The ‘Necks 2020 fifth-overall pick says it has been tough but there is no room for excuses.
“I think we kind of got jammed with the schedule that’s for sure,” said Cook. “It’s hard for us to get in a groove consistently. It makes it a little tougher when you are piecing together one weekend and then you’re off, definitely makes it harder but we can’t use that as an excuse and we will be better going forward.
“One thing Cook is looking forward to is continuing to solidify the new systems, with a series of bye-weeks coming to an end in late January. He says the relationship between the coaching staff and the players grows closer each week.
“We continue to build trust with our coaching staff and relationships with them,” explained Cook. “A lot of guys haven’t been coached by them or had any interaction with them until this year so that is a work in progress as well and as more games go on we’re continuing to build trust in each other and we’re going to be successful together in the end.”
