Royce Hunt uses Ricky Stuart slur to slam Corey Horsburgh as 'weak-gutted dog'

Hunt took the extraordinary step of turning Ricky Stuart's "weak-gutted dog" slur back on to Canberra firebrand Horsburgh, taking aim after a fiery contest.

A furious Hunt was sin-binned in the Sharks' loss to Canberra on Sunday, after he landed a jersey punch to the head of Horsburgh during the second half.

Hunt, frustrated by the altercation, has accused Horsburgh of hiding behind Jack Wighton after holding his Cronulla rival in a scrum and pushing him to the ground.

The Cronulla prop has already taken note of the Sharks' final-round clash with Canberra later this year, and has made no secret of the fact he will keep it in the back of his mind.

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"We'll see if he fronts up," Hunt said.

"I have never seen a front-rower hide behind a halfback.

"You can't just hold me in and push me over and not expect anything. I was a bit upset about that.

"It is what it is, it's rugby league. We get on with it and bash him next game."

Hunt and Horsburgh spent time together in the system at Canberra, and were teammates at Mt Pritchard in NSW Cup in 2018.

But on Wednesday, Hunt labelled Horsburgh's behaviour as a "low act".

He also channelled Stuart in his response, quipping that Horsburgh was a "weak-gutted dog", after Stuart made the reference about Penrith playmaker Jaeman Salmon last year.

Stuart was subsequently suspended as Raiders coach for one match and fined $25,000 over that comment.

The Raiders and Stuart have declined to comment on the matter.

The NRL told The Canberra Times they are aware of the matter and it's understood they are currently reviewing the comments.

It's unclear if Hunt will now receive a similar sanction as Stuart did from the NRL.

Asked on Wednesday if he thought it was poor form from Horsburgh, Hunt replied: "Definitely.

"As Ricky Stuart would say, he's a weak-gutted dog.

"We'll get him next game."

Hunt admitted his frustration that the jumper-punch proved crucial as Horsburgh scored immediately after the altercation and Canberra went on to win the game 24-20.

"I was a bit upset we lost," Hunt said.

"I got sent for 10 and put the boys under pressure. I was upset at myself for getting sent for 10 and letting him get under my skin."

In reaction to Hunt's spray, Horsburgh hit back by re-sharing a creative, tongue-in-cheek image on his Instagram story that depicted the Canberra forward as the Shark's "daddy".

"Really happy for my little boy watching daddy score two tries," the edited image caption read.

Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said after the match that both Horsburgh and Hunt were in the wrong.

"You can't just hold onto someone from the back of a scrum and push them over," Fitzgibbon said.

"But you can't do what Royce did.

"It should have been picked up by someone before Royce retaliated, Royce shouldn't have retaliated like that. Especially not while we were defending our goal line."

Stuart spoke after the win against the Sharks about his love of Horsburgh's passion.

"Corey Horsburgh's a very emotional kid and I've got the same type of personality," Stuart said.

"I understand Corey really well and it can let you down on the field - I know it's let me down as a player over the years.

"Corey's working really hard in controlling his emotions. I think he's developing into a mature player that understands what his emotions can do to his game - and it can also help his game too."

The Raiders next play the Sharks at PointsBet Stadium in Cronulla during the final round of the season on September 3.

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