# Corey Horsburgh

Corey Horsburgh (born 5 January 1998) is an Australian rugby league footballer who primarily plays as a lock for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League (NRL).

## Background

Horsburgh was born in Caboolture, Queensland, Australia. Raised in Caboolture South he played Australian rules football and was a 2014 junior premiership player for the Caboolture Lions and was a member of the Brisbane Lions Academy from age 14 to 16. At age 16 he began also playing rugby league with the Caboolture Snakes before moving to the Redcliffe Dolphins where he won a 2014 junior premiership. He represented the QLD Maroons at junior level, playing in the U20s side in 2018. Whilst playing for the North Queensland NYC team in 2016, he represented Queensland in their U18s game playing Lock, losing 0-26. He also played local league in Townsville for Norths Devils.

## Playing career
### 2018–2019

After previously being under development at North Queensland, he signed a contract to play for the Canberra Raiders and spent his first year, 2018, under development. After being upgraded to a top 30 contract, he made his debut in round 1 of the 2019 NRL season against the Gold Coast Titans. Horsburgh has been nicknamed "Horsepower" for his powerful horse-like on-field aggression.
Horsburgh made 22 appearances for Canberra in the 2019 NRL season as the club reached the grand final for the first time in 25 years. Horsburgh played from the bench in the club's 2019 NRL Grand Final defeat against the Sydney Roosters at Stadium Australia.
On 7 October 2019, Horsburgh was named at prop for the U23 Junior Australian side.

### 2020

In round 7 of the 2020 NRL season, Horsburgh was taken from the field after twisting his knee in a tackle made by Parramatta Eels player Ryan Matterson. An emotional Horsburgh walked to the sideline in tears and raised his middle fingers to the empty stand at Western Sydney Stadium. Canberra would go on to lose the match 25-24 in golden point extra-time.
On 29 June 2020, Horsburgh missed the rest of the season with a Lisfranc foot injury sustained during Canberra's loss to Parramatta. He finished his second season of NRL playing in 6 matches, starting in all of them.

### 2021

Horsburgh scored his first NRL try against the Sydney Roosters in round 12 of the 2021 NRL season. On 10 August 2021, Horsburgh signed a two-week loan deal to join bottom placed Canterbury-Bankstown to help their injury and suspension crisis.
Horsburgh made his club debut for Canterbury in round 22 against the New Zealand Warriors which ended in a 24-10 defeat.

### 2022

Horsburgh returned to the Canberra club at the start of the 2022 NRL season. Horsburgh played 22 games for Canberra in the 2022 NRL season including both of the clubs finals matches.

### 2023

In round 3 of the 2023 NRL season, Horsburgh scored two tries for Canberra in a 24-20 victory over Cronulla. In round 11, Horsburgh was sent to the sin bin for punching Parramatta's Ryan Matterson during Canberra's 26-18 win. Following Canberra's round 26 loss to Brisbane, Horsburgh was placed on report for a shoulder charge during the clubs loss. On 30 August, Horsburgh was suspended for a total of four matches. Horsburgh played a total of 22 matches for Canberra in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals.

### 2024

In round 17 of the 2024 NSW Cup season, Horsburgh was sent off after he was seen headbutting and then punching New Zealand Warriors player Jacob Laban. In round 27 of the 2024 NRL season, Horsburgh scored the winning try for Canberra with two minutes remaining as they defeated St. George Illawarra 26-24.

## Statistics

| Year | Team | Games | Tries | Pts |
| 2019 | Canberra Raiders | 22 | | |
| 2020 | Canberra Raiders | 6 | | |
| 2021 | Canberra Raiders | 8 | 1 | 4 |
| 2021 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2 | | |
| 2022 | Canberra Raiders | 22 | 1 | 4 |
| 2023 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 3 | 12 |
| 2024 | Canberra Raiders | 5 | 1 | 4 |
| | Totals | 87 | 6 | 24 |

## Controversy

On 2 February 2021, it was revealed that Horsburgh had been pulled over by police on 3 January 2021 and charged with low-range drink driving. The matter was later passed onto the NRL Integrity Unit.