‘Off You Go, Corey’: Raiders’ Horsburgh Censured for Verbal Dispute

Raiders forward Corey Horsburgh found himself on the receiving end of a penalty for verbal dissent during a pivotal moment in Friday night’s match against the Storm in Canberra.

Shortly after scoring his first try of the season, a passionate Horsburgh appeared to express his displeasure towards referee Peter Gough while attempting to play the ball – with Gough not taking kindly to the comments.

The referee’s whistle signalled possession change in favour of Melbourne, leaving Horsburgh and his teammates baffled while eliciting laughter from the Storm players.

“I won’t tolerate you making remarks at me,” Gough stated following the incident in the 11th minute.

“I didn’t say a thing!” Horsburgh protested.

“Go on, Corey, away,” Gough replied firmly.

Melbourne entered the game with a clear strategy to put pressure on Horsburgh defensively.

In the opening exchanges, Harry Grant, Stefano Utoikamanu, and Trent Loiero targeted the Canberra enforcer, with Grant holding on unusually long, yet Gough chose not to award the Raiders a “six again”.

It was an infraction from Grant during that tackle that appeared to trigger Horsburgh’s outburst towards the referee.

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“Horsburgh is feeling the heat,” commented Sharks premiership winner Michael Ennis during the Fox League broadcast.

“He’s absolutely furious here.

“Peter Gough isn’t having any of it.”

At the time of Horsburgh’s penalty, Melbourne was trailing 12-0.

Following the penalty, Melbourne responded with a swift try from dynamic fullback Sua Fa’alogo, seeing them get on the scoreboard.

By the end of the first half, the Storm had turned the game around, leading 16-12.

Adding to the Raiders’ woes, seasoned prop Josh Papalii left the field with a limp just a minute into the second half, sitting on the bench with an ice pack on his calf.

Stay tuned for updates.