Corey Horsburgh: Salary, Family, and Why He Left the Raiders

Some players leave a club because of a contract dispute. Corey Horsburgh left Canberra because, by his own account, it was simply time for a new chapter. That chapter starts in Perth: the hard-edged forward, who played 132 first-grade games for the Raiders (Perth Bears’ official announcement), has signed a three-year deal with the Perth Bears for their inaugural NRL season in 2027. Here’s what’s confirmed, what’s murky, and what the move says about the NRL’s newest club.

Born: 5 January 1998 (age 28) · Position: Lock / Prop · Current Team: Perth Bears (from 2027) · Previous Team: Canberra Raiders (2019–2026) · NRL Debut: 2018 · Representative: Queensland Maroons (2020)

Ten rows of bio data, one pattern: the path from a Caboolture junior to the NRL’s newest expansion forward.

How much does Corey Horsburgh get paid?

What is Corey Horsburgh’s estimated contract value?

• Exact salary: not publicly disclosed by the club or the player
• Reported estimate: $400,000–$600,000 per season
• Contrat length: three years, covering the 2027–2029 seasons (Perth Bears (club player profile))

NRL clubs rarely publish individual contracts, so the precise figure stays private. Fox Sports Australia (NRL news coverage) described Horsburgh as a 28-year-old when the Perth move was confirmed, and reporting around the deal put his value in the $400,000–$600,000 bracket. The Bears’ offer reportedly includes relocation incentives and performance bonuses, a common structure for expansion signings.

How does his salary compare to other NRL forwards?

• Middle forwards: typically a tier below the NRL’s marquee playmakers
• Expansion clubs: often use relocation perks to close the gap
• Salary cap rules: keep most individual figures behind closed doors

The comparison is less about the number and more about the structure. A veteran forward in Horsburgh’s position usually signs a straight contract at an established club; the Perth deal reportedly layers in the kind of incentives and allowances expansion clubs use to make a long-distance move work.

The pattern: in the NRL’s salary-cap economy, Horsburgh is exactly the kind of high-effort middle forward expansion teams overpay to land — and exactly the kind veteran clubs quietly let walk.

Why did Corey Horsburgh get dropped?

Was his drop from the Raiders due to form or discipline?

• Mid-2025: reportedly dropped from first-grade after a run of inconsistent form
• Discipline record: two suspensions for dangerous tackles in 2024
• Coach’s stance: Ricky Stuart demanded consistency and, later, said there was no bad blood

The exact trigger was never officially spelled out. Reporting around his exit pointed to a form slump in mid-2025 that saw him dropped from the Raiders’ first-grade side (Fox Sports Australia (NRL news coverage)), followed by a finger injury that required surgery. Coach Ricky Stuart, when asked directly about the relationship in August 2026, said there was no bad blood (ESPN Australia (NRL reporting)).

What role did the finger injury play?

• Injury: a finger problem required surgery and cost him games
• Recovery: the layoff coincided with the form slump that led to his omission
• Outcome: the injury window gave both sides time to consider what came next

The injury mattered because it interrupted the one thing Horsburgh had always provided: availability. A forward whose value is built on relentless middle-of-the-field minutes cannot press his case from the physio room, and the combination of surgery and scratchy form left the door open for a fresh start elsewhere.

The implication: the “dropped” narrative was never clean. It blurred form, injury and a coach’s standards — and it gave both player and club an off-ramp once Perth picked up the phone.

Does Corey Horsburgh have a kid?

Who is Corey Horsburgh’s partner?

• Status: in a long-term relationship, with the partner’s name kept private
• Background: believed to be from his hometown of Caboolture
• Public presence: rarely appears in his social media

How many children does Corey Horsburgh have?

• Children: one son, born in 2023
• Name: not publicly shared
• Family reaction: reportedly excited about the Perth move

Horsburgh has kept his family largely out of the spotlight. It has been reported that he and his partner welcomed a son in 2023; neither the child’s name nor the partner’s full name has been confirmed publicly. When the Perth deal became public, he reportedly said his partner and family were excited about the move (Sport Nation (NZ sports outlet)).

Why this matters: for a player known for on-field aggression, the family detail is the quiet counterweight — and, reportedly, a key reason a long-distance move to Perth felt manageable.

Where is Corey Horsburgh going?

Why did Corey Horsburgh choose the Perth Bears?

• Destination: Perth Bears, the NRL’s newest expansion club
• Timing: joins for their inaugural 2027 season
• Career stage: mid-to-late prime, with a chance to define a new club’s culture

The Bears are a blank canvas. Horsburgh gets to be one of the first names on the team sheet, rather than one of many in an established squad. Mal Meninga, the NRL’s head of elite development, was part of the recruitment pitch that helped persuade him (Sport Nation (NZ sports outlet)).

What is Mal Meninga’s connection to the move?

• Meninga: NRL head of elite development, a Queensland and rugby league legend
• Role: personally involved in selling the expansion vision
• Impact: persuasive enough that Horsburgh went public with the move

Meninga’s involvement matters beyond a simple recruitment call. As one of the sport’s most respected figures in Queensland, he gave the Perth pitch legitimacy — a signal that the Bears were not just building a roster, they were building a culture. Horsburgh has said the move came at the right time of his career.

What this means: Horsburgh is not just changing clubs — he is changing identities. In Canberra he was an enforcer; in Perth he gets to be a founder, which is a different kind of pressure.

What happened to Corey Horsburgh?

Did he have a falling out with the Raiders?

• Stuart’s version: no bad blood, but he was not told about the Perth move in advance
• Contract friction: reports of a dispute early in the 2025 season
• Exit: the request for a release was eventually granted

The relationship was not a single explosion — it was a slow burn. Horsburgh was suspended twice in 2024 for dangerous tackles, and the early part of the 2025 season brought reports of a contract dispute. By the time the Perth news broke in August 2026, Stuart was telling reporters he had not been informed about the move in advance — while insisting there was no bad blood (ESPN Australia (NRL reporting)).

Has his discipline record affected his career?

• 2024: two suspensions for dangerous tackles
• Reputation: the “enforcer” label has followed him through his career
• 2025: a finger injury and form slump gave critics more ammunition

The discipline record is part of the reason his career has two storylines: the enforcer who helped drive the Raiders to the 2019 grand final, and the player who kept getting suspended at the wrong moments. Horsburgh’s own explanation for the Perth move leans on renewal — a refresh, a chance to restructure his life (Sport Nation (NZ sports outlet)).

The catch: Perth needs the 2020-Origin version of Horsburgh, not the one racking up suspensions. The Bears are betting that a fresh start brings out the former.

Corey Horsburgh career timeline

Eleven milestones, one arc: from a Brisbane AFL academy kid to the founding enforcer of an NRL expansion club.

Why this matters: every reinvention of Horsburgh’s career — from AFL academy kid to NRL enforcer, from Raider to founding Bear — has come with a change of scenery.

Confirmed vs. unclear: what we actually know

Confirmed facts

• Three-year contract with the Perth Bears covering the 2027–2029 seasons
• 132 first-grade games for Canberra before the move
• One State of Origin appearance for Queensland
• Two-game loan at Canterbury-Bankstown in 2021
• Eight-season association with Canberra ended in 2026

What’s unclear

• Exact salary: no official figure published
• Reason for the mid-2025 omission: form, injury, or discipline was never fully explained
• The finger injury and its recovery timeline: reported but not officially detailed (Fox Sports Australia (NRL news coverage))
• Names of his partner and child: not confirmed
• Whether the final split was as amicable as the public statements suggest
• Mal Meninga’s exact role in the recruitment pitch: reported to be significant, but the specifics were not public

The implication: the certainties are solid, but the open questions are exactly where the next plot twist will come from.

Quotes that frame the move

“The move to Perth came at the right time of my career.”

Corey Horsburgh, quoted in the Perth Bears announcement

“There is no bad blood between us.”

Ricky Stuart, as reported by ESPN Australia (NRL reporting)

“My partner and family are excited about the move.”

Corey Horsburgh, as reported by Sport Nation

What this means for the Perth Bears

Corey Horsburgh’s move to Perth is bigger than one contract. In a single transfer he traded the familiar role of Canberra enforcer for the risk and reward of being an inaugural Bear — a decision that will help define the NRL’s newest club before it plays a game. For the Perth Bears, the choice is clear: give Horsburgh the leadership role his 132-game resume earns from round one, or risk an expansion season defined by inexperience rather than identity.

Frequently asked questions

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