TRURO - On Monday, Justin Palardy will be booking a plane ticket to one of two places.
He'll either be coming home, or headed to Vancouver. No offence to his hometown, but the 23-year-old Murray Siding native would much rather be headed west in pursuit of the Grey Cup.
The kicker, entering his first CFL postseason in his sophomore campaign, and his Winnipeg Blue Bombers take on his former team, the Hamilton Tiger Cats, in Sunday's East Division final at Canad Inns Stadium in Winnipeg. The winner moves on to Vancouver where they'll meet the victor of the other semifinal between Edmonton and B.C.
"I'm pretty lucky I'm only 23 and playing in the east final," Palardy said. "My second year at Saint Mary's we went to the Vanier Cup so hopefully that's a good omen. Some guys never get that shot so I'm just going to take it and enjoy it and step up and do a good job."
No doubt it's an exciting time. Who wouldn't be pumped to get a chance to play for a championship? But Palardy is notorious for keeping a level head and this week has been no different. He's still taking his ordinary approach to an out-of-the-ordinary game.
"I'm just trying to keep things the same as the other 18 games," he said. "I'm not trying to put any extra pressure on myself. It is the east final but you've just got to take it one kick at a time."
After a week of practice and travel, Palardy has a strict routine on game day. He arrives at the field early and starts getting loose by stretching, sitting in the hot tub and getting worked on by the team's trainer before it's time to gear up.
"That's the way I've done it since my first year of university and it's probably not going to change as long as I'm playing football," he said. "Everyone has a different way of preparing themselves. You prepare all week so you're able to do what you do and put it through the uprights."
That's something Palardy has done with success this season. He was fourth in the league in scoring with 162 points. But Palardy wasn't happy with going 40-for-52 for a 76.9 per cent success rate, ninth in the league. He was 26-for-30 after joining the Bombers midway through the season last year for an 86.7 per cent rating.
"I haven't kicked under 80 per cent in three years," he said. "So I'm going to make some adjustments."
But don't expect that to bother Palardy in the postseason because he's also good at forgetting about his last kick and focusing on his next one.
"You just have to stay focused and control what you can control and that's kicking field goals," he said. "I'll be a cheerleader for my teammates on the sidelines and when it's time to do my job I'll step up and do it."
Not only does Palardy and his teammates want to win on a personal level, they also want to do it for the Winnipeg fans in a perfect sendoff for Canad Inns Stadium. The Bombers will be playing on a new field next season.
If it comes down to him for a late kick, he'll be ready.
"It would be better to win comfortably," he said. "But it would definitely be a good way to win and close out the old stadium."
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