For the best part of a year, Corey Horsburgh and Ricky Stuart did not speak.
The Canberra coach had decided last pre-season that Horsburgh, a State of Origin prop who had just signed a rich three-year extension, was not going to start the year in first grade.
By his own admission, Horsburgh did not take the news well.
“I didn’t think I’d play again for the Raiders, to be honest,” he says. “No one was talking to me or anything. I didn’t think I would ever play for [Stuart] again, that he had just put a line through me.
“I’m a stubborn person, he’s a stubborn person, and we just stopped talking.
“It was a bit hard to take. It started in pre-season. He told me I lost my spot and I took it the wrong way. I stopped trying at training, got a bit fatter than usual.
Corey Horsburgh celebrates his dazzling try against the Dragons in September.Credit: Getty Images
“It’s what happens, you take things the wrong way sometimes. I didn’t go the right way about things, sabotaged myself in a way.”
The stand-off stalled a promising career. A combination of injuries and ill discipline, coupled with the ignominy of being dropped to reserve grade, left Horsburgh wondering whether he should leave Canberra altogether.
The passion that had been the Horsburgh hallmark on the field had dissipated. A circuit breaker was required, and it came in two forms. The Maroons front-rower admitted he “stopped caring”, allowing him to enjoy the company of his teammates while playing NSW Cup.
“The pressure went away, I stopped overthinking things and started playing footy,” he says. “I stopped caring and started having some fun.”
However, the biggest change was prompted by his manager, Jeff Jurotte. Realising that his client felt isolated, Jurotte arranged for Horsburgh to meet with a therapist.
“It was a chance to talk some things out because no one was talking to me at the club, so I needed someone to talk to,” Horsburgh says.
“I just think we don’t talk enough when you’re struggling as blokes. I was talking to no one, no one was talking to me. I kinda just shut off. I didn’t care any more. I just stopped trying, stopped caring.
“[Talking] identified what was going on; you talk and kinda work it out yourself. That’s what I did. It makes you talk about things, which normally you blow over and don’t even think about.
“It made me realise that I was half the problem, that I need to change myself. I’m taking the right steps.”
Corey Horsburgh with Ricky Stuart.Credit: NRL Photos
The sessions, which began on a weekly basis before reverting to monthly check-ins, made a difference. Horsburgh shares this in the hope that it could prompt other athletes to seek assistance if required.
“It definitely helped me,” he says. “I started writing stuff down, making myself aware of what was triggering me.
“Not so much things that made me angry, but what would set me off in a negative headspace. I kinda worked out my triggers, and that helps. If you don’t know what the problem is, you can’t move forward from it.
“It was good to identify the problems and negatives, move forward and get better.”
Having identified the issues, Horsburgh went about rectifying them. The 26-year-old worked off the excess kilograms, trained with greater intensity and his level of play improved accordingly.
It didn’t go unnoticed. In the lead-up to the round 25 game against Penrith, Stuart approached his representative prop.
Their first conversation in forever was a short one.
“You’re playing this week,” Stuart said. “And you’re starting.”
In Horsburgh’s first game in the NRL since round five, the Raiders produced a monumental upset against a Panthers side that would go on to win a fourth consecutive premiership. Horsburgh retained his place for the next clash, against the Roosters. Another win for the Green Machine.
‘I just think we don’t talk enough when you’re struggling as blokes. I was talking to no one, no one was talking to me.’
Corey Horsburgh
And then when all seemed lost the following week, in the final game of the season against the Dragons, “Big Red” pulled off a play that, had it backfired, may have resulted in more silent treatment from the coach.
With his team trailing in the final moments, Horsburgh put boot to ball, collected a fortuitous ricochet, and dived over for the match-winning try.
“It was a bit of a weird year, wasn’t it?” Horsburgh muses. “It was nice to get a win. That’s rugby league, the rollercoaster.”
Indeed, it has been quite the ride. Having spent much of the year in limbo, questions about his long-term future remained unanswered until September. Other clubs, most notably Wests Tigers, were keen on his services.
A move to the joint-venture outfit would have resulted in a reunion with his old sparring partner, Concord-bound Cronulla forward Royce Hunt. The two were involved in a memorable stoush that began on the field and spilled onto social media.
“We get along, me and Roycey, we would have been good together,” Horsburgh says with a chuckle. “We were at the Raiders when I was young and he was obviously a young fella, too.
“We got along. Most footy players can leave stuff on the field and get over it. He’s a good fella, I’ve got time for Roycey.
“The fireworks will play on when we play against each other.”
Instead, Horsburgh decided to stay put. Having hugged it out with Stuart, the “defining factor” was his daughter, Alina, who turns three in December.
“She’s definitely a big reason why,” he says. “I didn’t even know how big of a reason why until the back end of last year.
“I write her name on my wrist, as well as my mum and my dad. When I’m on the field I look down and it gives me a bit of motivation to do them proud.
“I realise that to do that I need to be in good nick and I want to show that I can bounce back from anything. That’s my goal for this season and my career, to do them proud and not stuff it up as much.”
A new season has brought a new attitude. Having represented Queensland in State of Origin on one occasion, the goal is to add to the tally.
“I know where I belong and with my best footy, I belong on that stage,” he says.
Yet before he can dream of a Maroons jersey, he needs to remind Stuart he belongs in the lime green one.
“Me and Sticky obviously had a good chat at the end of the year, we spoke about some things we both need to work on,” he says.
“I haven’t talked to him since – I’ve been enjoying my off-season, and he’s been doing the same. I’d say it will be good when I’m back there in good nick and good mindset.
“Half the problem will work itself out with how I come back.”
No men have more passion for the game than Stuart and Horsburgh. The latter believes he’s finally learnt how to best channel his.
“I’ve gone the wrong way about it sometimes,” he says.
“It might not always look like it, but I’ve definitely got it under control. At times in my career, I was a bit unfit or a bit mentally unstable, that’s why working on myself will help me to use it the right way.”
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