BY DAN

You have seen the photos of Corey Horsburgh doing the rounds on the social media recently. If you haven’t, here’s one courtesy of the Green Machine Podcast.

He looks very fit. Well for him. Corey has always had a different, more regular shape than most athletes. It likely doesn’t matter the amount of work he puts in, he’ll always have a very ‘normal’ build to him, unlike say Ryan James a few years ago. Even with an off-season of some of the hardest work a man can do, he’ll still look like a 1950s boxer. In fact, look, here’s Rocky Marciano.

Heavyweight champion of the world. Undefeated his entire career. Same body shape as Corey.

I highlight this to point out something that Corey has proven his entire career (and that Ryan James sorta proved that one year he was in Canberra). Fitness, strength, football, and six packs aren’t necessarily the most nestled venn diagram you might come across. Being fit for the ‘gram and fit for footy aren’t something that necessarily that Corey will ever do at the same time.

That is not to discourage your appropriate Raiders-based thirst seeing the Red Horse shirtless. You’re only human after all. The work that he’s been putting in this off-season has been continuously noted, both in terms of his physical and also his mental. As he told the Canberra Times recently, he’s dropped the victim mentality, is putting in the work, and wants to take the league by storm. He’s even making up for Coach Stuart’s unique communication style by making sure the dialogue is flowing between them.

This change in mindset is more important than any physical changes. Horsburgh was already capable of putting together 70 untiring minutes of impressive contact, powerful movement and handy ball work (sounds like a fun night out yuk yuk yuk). The challenge for him has been mental, in preparation and in reaction. It’s led to some hot headed moments, both on and off the field, what Corey called a victim mentality.

I just got a victim mentality last year, instead of just working hard and doing the stuff you need to do to play first grade, which I’ve tried to fix

In the past he’s sought solace from deep breathing. Some work with a therapist is paying dividends too. A dietitian has followed and better communication with coach Stuart.

I started to get some therapy, I got my own dietitian, and tried to get my mindset and body right. At the moment, it’s in a good spot, so hopefully it stays good this year

and

I’m trying to learn how to talk. If I’m not in a good headspace, me and ‘Stick’ chat.

It’s a quiet reminder for all of us that body and mind are often interlinked. Elite athletes are not immune, and perhaps more susceptible, to the vagaries of human existence. Our lives are often influenced by structures beyond our control, but whatever we can do with our little bag of issues is a positive step to take.

Hopefully it provides Red the base he needs moving forward. Being fitter might make that better. Fitness has always been part of his game but endurance was never a problem. He was happily pumping out 70 minutes at a time in 2023 when he had his best career year (to date). The new level of fitness won’t necessarily push him beyond that, but I suspect it will avoid situations like last season where injuries of bodily structure plague his season. And a clearer mind will also put him in better stead if they do.

There’s always a risk with these kinds of body transformations. Training the house down is one thing, but there’s always a risk of over-gaming the system, focusing too much on aerobic ability and not enough on the power quotient needed for his role. Presumably this body work has been done under the watchful of Canberra’s high performance team. In combination with a qualified dietitian (a tautology – dietitians are distinct from nutritionists precisely because of their qualifications) we can be sated that this improvement will suit Horse and the Milk.

We were predicting 2025 would be Red’s best year in August of last year. His offseason has done little to dissuade us of that opinion (one that is probably a little too widely shared for comfort. It always makes me nervous when we start pricing in gains like this). The last time Corey came into to a year with a focus so strong he ended up playing origin and signing a new deal. That time he just wasn’t getting in his own way. Now he’s legit building himself up. It’s a good place to be.

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