Canberra Raiders rip 'weird' Corey Horsburgh ban after 'confident' NRL judiciary appeal bid fails

"I do [think Horsburgh was hard done by]," Woolford said on Wednesday.

"It's hard to say too much but, like, what's the game come to?

"It was a pretty good shot. I'm pretty sure all the past players and the people in the media all thought the same thing.

"So for everyone to be thinking that and then the powers to think other things, it's a bit weird, but there's nothing we can do about it."

Horsburgh went to the judiciary on Tuesday night in Sydney to fight the three-match ban the NRL match review committee slapped on him after Canberra's 29-18 loss to Brisbane. The 79th minute tackle wasn't penalised and Horsburgh wasn't initially put on report.

So confident were the Raiders of getting him off, Horsburgh, lawyer Nick Ghabar and chief executive Don Furner went to NRL headquarters in person to overturn the suspension.

However the judiciary panel of Bob Lindner and Sean Hampstead unanimously upheld the grade one shoulder charge ruling in under half an hour, and losing their appeal, the Raiders now have to sit out 'Big Red' for four games.

"We haven't been [to the judiciary] since 2018 so generally speaking we take the plea," Furner told Fox Sports.

"We wouldn't have come up here if we didn't think we had a good case because it's a waste of time and money otherwise.

"So we were confident, and then even more confident after Nick made his case ... but yeah we might not be coming for another five years."

On the same week the Raiders need a win against Cronulla to ensure their finals appearance, the absence of Horsburgh is devastating in addition to the loss of Josh Papali'i, whose season is over after needing bicep surgery.

The earliest Horsburgh will now be able to return is the grand final, should the Raiders make it that far.

"It's a pretty tough blow for the big fella. He's had a really good year and this is the time of year we all want to be playing, so it's really unfortunate for Red," Woolford said.

"[Horsburgh and Papali'i] are big parts of our team, but we've had a few of the younger boys string together some good passages of footy over the last month," he added.

"They're chomping at the bit and ready for their chance and we're going to need them this week."

NRL debutant Hohepa Puru, Ata Mariota, and Pasami Saulo are among the forward options to step into the starting lock role in Horsburgh's absence.

Cronulla Sharks vs Canberra Raiders at Shark Park on Sunday 4pm

Raiders squad: 1. Jordan Rapana, 2. Sebastian Kris, 3. Jack Wighton, 4. Matt Timoko, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Matt Frawley, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Emre Guler, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (C), 13. Corey Horsburgh. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Ata Mariota, 16. Jarrod Croker (C), 17. Hohepa Puru. Reserves: 18. Pasami Saulo, 19. Albert Hopoate, 20. Trey Mooney, 21. Danny Levi, 22. James Schiller

Sharks squad: 1. Connor Tracey, 2. Sione Katoa, 3. Jesse Ramien, 4. Sifa Talakai, 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6. Braydon Trindall, 7. Nicho Hynes, 8. Braden Hamlin-Uele, 9. Blake Brailey, 10. Toby Rudolf, 11. Briton Nikora, 12. Wade Graham, 13. Cam McInnes. Interchange: 14. Jack Williams, 15. Royce Hunt, 16. Tom Hazelton, 17. Matt Moylan

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