BY DAN

Earlier this year Corey Horsburgh left his second game for the season with a groin injury and didn’t return. It was initially deemed minor enough that Sexy Red might even be ready for the next game (against the Titans). Alas we have not heard from him since.

My kingdom for a (red) horse.

A few weeks ago it was announced he was coming back. Our crimson cavalier was going to be getting some metres into his legs via Cup footy while the first grade side was on a bye. Only instead of him it was Trey Mooney playing below his level, and instead Horsburgh was nowhere to be seen.

Then again team list Tuesday popped around this week, and the crimson Corey was again absent. Not in first grade. Not in Cup. As noted by Matt on the Green Machine Podcast, the reggies side did have a spare place or two to add a player late. But given how long Red has been missing, and how long he’s been expected back, slipping him in the back door of Cup isn’t exactly some genius sneak attack.

He was already in the midst of a slow start to the season, having been held back by some combination of suspension, lack of motivation and related conditioning issues. From a player who was routinely playing 60 plus minutes a game last season, he’s only managed 72 minutes (over 2 games) for the entire season. His absence has increased the role and load of players like Morgan Smithies, Ata Mariota and Emre Guler. It’s also potentially been part of the reason Trey Mooney has finally found consistent minutes in first grade. So not ball bad I guess.

Smithies in particular has borne the brunt, being asked to play huge minutes in an almost exact replica of Horsburgh’s 2023 role. He’s done an admirable job given it’s his first run in the NRL but the longer the season goes on the bigger the risk of him wearing down. He cracked 100 metres plus in five of the first six games of the year. Since then he’s only cracked it twice. He missed five tackles through the first six weeks of the year. In the next six he’s missed 9. Look that could be nothing, but combined with some notable try-causes (like the miss on Victor Radley for the first try against the Roosters) and downward trendline in minute allocation, it’s fair to say he could be feeling the pinch.

It’s also meant (and means) a reduced flexibility for the club in dealing with the ongoing absence of Zac Hosking and Pasami Saulo (who has similarly been out much longer than originally thought), and more intermittent leave of Hudson Young for Origin, and Josh Papalii. Last year Canberra played Horsburgh on a edge with a greater degree of success than we thought possible. This year they’ve cycled Mariota and Simi Sasagi there as well. I don’t think it likely he would have played at backrow this season, given his self-admitted imperfect off-season. But they absolutely would have loved to have him in the middle when Mariota shifted there.

The ongoing lack of clarity of Horsburgh’s situation reminds of when in 2022 he was ruled out of a game with a “non-Covid” illness. We waited for him to get named week and week, thinking it was a cold/flu scenario. By the time he came back he’d missed the best part of six weeks. It’s vexing.

It’s also frustrating for Corey’s development. 2023 was a breakout year so to speak, with career highs in almost every metric, Origin footy, and establishment as part of a three-headed monster through the middle with Taps and Papa. All of a sudden questions that had been asked and seemingly answered previously are back in the darkest corners of our minds. Will he have to prove himself all over again? Are the injury issues of years past a part time issue or a conditioning problem?

Canberra could certainly use a healthy and effective Horsburgh at some point in the next few weeks. There a greater than zero chance they’re missing Hudson Young next week. Elliott Whitehead wasn’t meant to play last time out, and himself said he was touch-and-go to be named for the Cowboys game. An extra body, especially one of the capability of the Red King, could be crucial.

If you like our page on Facebook,  follow us on Twitter, or share this on social media, I’ll give you a hug, a big pour of whisky and warm blanket. Don’t hesitate to send us feedback (dan@sportress.org) or comment below if you have anything you want addressed.