Canberra Raiders forward Corey Horsburgh is set to contest his three-match ban for a shoulder charge at the NRL judiciary on Tuesday night in a bid to be available for Sunday's pivotal Cronulla clash.
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Horsburgh was on Sunday cited by the match review committee for a shoulder charge on Brisbane's Corey Jensen in the 79th minute of their 29-18 loss to the Broncos on Saturday night.
His third and subsequent offence came with a three-game suspension, but the club will take its chances of overturning the ban at the judiciary from 6pm Tuesday night in Sydney.
If they lose the appeal, Horsburgh will be wiped for four games, which would sideline him until the grand final, should the Raiders make it there without him.
MORE CANBERRA RAIDERS NEWS:
Canberra could use Horsburgh as it nervously awaits results of scans to halfback Jamal Fogarty's eye socket and prop Josh Papali'i's left bicep.
Fogarty's face was swollen after the Broncos game, but had improved on Monday. There are slim hopes Papali'i's setback isn't too severe with players sometimes able to play through the injury if minor.
Matt Frawley is in line to replace Fogarty if needed, Pasami Saulo expected to be next man up for Papali'i.
The club has enlisted the help of lawyer Nick Ghabar to defend Horsburgh, where they will argue "Big Red" attempted to make a legal tackle.
"He used his arms and it just wasn't a shoulder charge," Raiders chief executive Don Furner told The Canberra Times.
"It was right in front of the ref and he didn't do anything."
Referee Adam Gee was near the incident and didn't give a penalty or put Horsburgh on report at the time.
Raiders pair Jordan Rapana (tripping) and Zac Woolford (crusher tackle) both accepted $3000 fines each for their charges. Rapana has now totalled $9000 in fines within a month.
The Raiders' trip to the Shire was going to see a highly-anticipated rematch between Horsburgh and Cronulla prop Royce Hunt after their heated encounter earlier this year.
The Raiders will need to beat the Sharks to guarantee their spot in the top-eight, which would likely see them finish sixth and get a home final.
If the Raiders are defeated by Cronulla they will rely on the Panthers beating the Cowboys to secure eighth position on the ladder, behind either the Rabbitohs or Roosters.
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Melanie Dinjaski
Melanie Dinjaski is an experienced sports journalist at the Canberra Times with a genuine love of all sports. She's covered every code from NRL to NFL. Melanie aims to bring Canberrans all the sports news they need to know. If you have a story worth sharing, get in touch!
Melanie Dinjaski is an experienced sports journalist at the Canberra Times with a genuine love of all sports. She's covered every code from NRL to NFL. Melanie aims to bring Canberrans all the sports news they need to know. If you have a story worth sharing, get in touch!
