And he says the fiery redhead will need to learn to control his emotions after he was put on report twice for shoulder charges in two pre-season trials at Seiffert Oval on Saturday.

Horsburgh's already facing a round one ban as the NRL integrity unit decides on what punishment he'll get for his off-season drink-driving charge.

He played in both of the Raiders' trials, which they lost the main one 26-20 in an entertaining game against the Sydney Roosters.

Horsburgh also got involved in some push and shove with Roosters forward Angus Crichton, who impressed for the visitors.

"He reminds me of myself when I was a little bit younger - probably a little bit more than I was," Hodgson said.

"He wears his heart on his sleeve and probably sometimes it gets the better of him.

"He's such a good lad and, as you can tell, sometimes his emotions get the better of him.

"That's something he's going to have to learn to manage as a footy player - you don't want to be spending too much time on the sidelines.

"Hopefully his reports aren't too bad - I didn't really catch them."

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart got about 40 minutes into most of his other senior players before ringing the changes at half-time - with the Green Machine leading 16-10 at the break.

Hudson Young, Joe Tapine, Jack Wighton and Albert Hopoate all scored tries for the home side, while Sitili Tupouniua, Lindsay Collins, Sam Walker, Daniel Tupou and James Tedesco crossed for the Roosters.

It was an entertaining encounter that produced plenty of positives for Canberra.

Young's try was part of a performance that looks to have nailed down the vacancy left in the second row by John Bateman.

He crossed after a good break from Raiders halfback George Williams.

Perhaps hinting to how the Green Machine might line up in round one against the Wests Tigers, Seb Kris was given first crack at left centre, while new Raider Ryan James and Emre Guler were the first middles Stuart turned to off the bench.

Harley Smith-Shields also impressed in his second-half stint at left centre, with him and Kris auditioning to be Jarrod Croker's understudy - Croker meeting with the specialist on Monday to determine if he'll be ready for round one.

Hodgson was impressed with James' first hit-out in lime green - the former Gold Coast captain's first game since he hurt his knee for the second time in 2019.

He's slotted straight into an already strong Raiders pack, where competition for spots is going to be intense.

"Ryan James really impressed me," he said.

"To see a bloke who had not played since 2019, especially when he was playing in our game around the older boys, I thought he looked really good.

"I thought he did his job really well, he carried really strong and he's proved he's going to be a really good signing for us this year. I thought he was really sharp."

Jordan Rapana started on Canberra's left wing, with Bailey Simonsson on the right - with the latter showing his versatility by spending some time at fullback in the preceding NSW Cup trial.

Raiders lock Tapine looks to be in the same shape he ended 2020 in, having established himself as one of the top middle forwards in the NRL, crashing over from close range to score Canberra's second.

The Raiders again exploited the Roosters' middle - something they're starting to make a habit of, having exposed that area last season - Wighton crawling over under the posts, before coming off after 25 minutes.

Englishman Harry Rushton also impressed in his first taste of NRL action since switcing from Wigan in the off-season.

He's a big unit and looked at home, putting on a big hit.

Roosters coach Trent Robinson kept most of his senior players on for the second half as they came from behind - before Raiders recruit Albert Hopoate crossed in the corner.

NRL PRE-SEASON TRIAL

SYDNEY ROOSTERS 26 (Sitili Tupouniua, Lindsay Collins, Sam Walker,Daniel Tupou, James Tedesco tries; Sio Siua Taukeiaho 2, James Tedesco goals) bt CANBERRA RAIDERS 20 (Hudson Young, Joe Tapine, Jack Wighton, Albert Hopoate tries; George Williams 2 goals) at Seiffert Oval.