The Saskatchewan Roughriders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats are in an unique situation.

The two teams met two weeks ago at Mosaic Stadium with the Riders pulling out an 18-13 win; both sides then went onto a bye week last week; and now they'll complete their extended home-and-home at Tim Hortons Field on Thursday night.

Both teams enter the game with identical 2-2 records, making for a big early season matchup.

"This is a big game, they're one of the hot teams in the league, so we've got to win this game just like we had to win the last game," said Riders defensive end Charleston Hughes.

The Riders will be going with Brandon Bridge again at quarterback this week as Zach Collaros remains on the mend. It's also expected that David Watford will see time during the game as well.

Hamilton is a significant place for Bridge as it’s where he earned his first CFL win as a starter last season. He’ll be looking for a repeat performance this week.

"I have a couple of games under my belt, I have more confidence in the offence and playing them last week, I have more confidence," said Bridge. "I'm going in there more confident, more eager and excited to play."

Bridge finished with just 101 yards passing in the Riders' Week 4 win over the Tiger-Cats, but he was 11-of-13 on his passes and connected with Josh Stanford for a key first down on the Riders’ game-winning drive.

Bridge said he's prepared for this week's showdown. 

"We know what type of environment that we're in and what type of players that (Hamilton) has on (defence)," said Bridge.

Hamilton quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is going for his 10th straight 300-yard passing game this week.

It will be Hughes and the Riders’ defence’s job to slow down the Ti-Cats pivot and give their team a chance to win like two weeks ago at Mosaic Stadium.

The Riders and Ti-Cats kick-off at 5:30 p.m. from Tim Hortons Field.

Fantuz Retires

Former Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Andy Fantuz has announced his retirement after 12 seasons in the Canadian Football League.

Fantuz was originally selected by the Riders with the third overall pick in the 2006 CFL Draft.

He won a Grey Cup with Saskatchewan during his second season in the league in 2007, winning the game's Most Outstanding Canadian honour.

Fantuz finishes his career with 637 receptions for 8,363 yards and 44 touchdowns in 148 games with the Riders and Hamilton Tiger-Cats.