‘Built some really good habits in his game’: Corey Horsburgh earns Maroons debut as Qld seek series sweep
Billy Slater will unleash a cult hero as the Maroons look to clinch a series sweep in enemy territory for the first time in 13 years.
NRL
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Corey Horsburgh will make his Queensland debut next week, while Gold Coast’s AJ Brimson has won the race to replace the suspended Reece Walsh at fullback as the Maroons look to clinch a series sweep in enemy territory.
It’s smooth sailing for Queensland coach Billy Slater who has only had to make two changes, with Horsburgh coming in for the injured Thomas Flegler, while Brimson fills in for Walsh after he was suspended for abusing referee Chris Butler.
Brimson has played three games for his state before, with his only start at fullback coming in the 2020 series opener when he scored a try in a thrilling 18-14 victory.
“He’s had a bit of a chequered run with injuries,” Slater said.
“Every time that he’s come back – and he came back from a hamstring injury only a few weeks ago – he just hits the ground running and I was really impressed with his performance.
“That was the reason why he was 18th man for Queensland in game 2.
“You don’t just get those opportunities for the experience. You get those opportunities because you deserve them.
“If the opportunity to wear a Maroons jersey comes up, the selectors and the coaches are all comfortable with those players playing for Queensland.
“We want AJ Brimson to be AJ Brimson, not Reece Walsh, like we didn’t expect Reece to be Kalyn (Ponga).”
There was an outside chance that Ponga would backflip on his decision to make himself unavailable for the series, but the Knights star confirmed that wouldn’t be the case after he tore the Bulldogs to shreds on Sunday.
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow was another option to shift to fullback, but his form at left centre was too good to ignore.
Horsburgh was “really excited” when he got the call from Slater to let him know that he’d been picked on the bench after a stellar season in the middle for Canberra.
“There was a reason why Corey was in the squad for game 2,” Slater said.
“He’s been impressive for the first half of the season and built some really good habits in his game.
“You can tell when players have a great off-season, and Corey is one of those guys.
“Corey has knuckled down, focused on his footy and focused on what’s important in his footy. You see that regularly every week and it’s the reason why Corey has earned the opportunity to play for Queensland.”
There are a couple of hardluck stories, with Selwyn Cobbo unable to win back his spot on the wing after missing the game in Brisbane with a hip injury.
He was brilliant for the Broncos on Saturday night with three tries in the Brisbane derby, but Melbourne’s Xavier Coates has retained his spot on the flank, with Tom Dearden named 18th man after another strong showing for the Cowboys.
There has been one key change to the spine with Harry Grant named to start for the first time since 2021, with Ben Hunt set to come off the bench as the Maroons chase their first series sweep since 2010.
“If we earn the result then it’ll be a clean sweep,” said Slater, who was a part of that team 13 years ago.
“This team has created a great foundation to their footy, and they’re still seeking improvement and a higher level of footy. That’s where our focus will be for the next 10 days.”
Queensland: 1 AJ Brimson (Gold Coast Titans), 2 Xavier Coates (Melbourne Storm), 3 Valentine Holmes (North Queensland Cowboys), 4 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (The Dolphins), 5 Murray Taulagi (North Queensland Cowboys), 6 Cameron Munster (Melbourne Storm), 7 Daly Cherry-Evans (Manly Sea Eagles), 8 Reuben Cotter (North Queensland Cowboys), 9 Harry Grant (Melbourne Storm), 10 Tino Fa’asuamaleaui (Gold Coast Titans), 11 David Fifita (Gold Coast Titans), 12 Jeremiah Nanai (North Queensland Cowboys), 13 Patrick Carrigan (Brisbane Broncos). Interchange: 14 Ben Hunt (St George Illawarra Dragons), 15 Lindsay Collins (Sydney Roosters), 16 Moeaki Fotuaika (Gold Coast Titans), 17 Corey Horsburgh (Canberra Raiders), 18 Tom Dearden (North Queensland Cowboys), 19 J’maine Hopgood (Parramatta Eels).
Originally published as ‘Built some really good habits in his game’: Corey Horsburgh earns Maroons debut as Qld seek series sweep
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