Corey Horsburgh ready for State of Origin but happy if he makes Queensland Maroons squad

The fiery redhead admitted he needed to be smarter after he was sent to the sin bin for punching Parramatta forward Ryan Matterson, although Horsburgh felt it was more of a push than a punch.

Former Maroons coach and Raiders legend Mal Meninga labelled it as "dumb" during the Green Machine's 26-18 victory over the Eels on Saturday night.

Horsburgh has played himself into Origin contention after being one of Canberra's best players all season.

He ran for 148 metres, made one tackle bust, one offload and 36 tackles against the Eels, while he also passed the ball 10 times to show his versatility as a linkman.

Despite spending 10 minutes in the bin, it again put his name on the radar of Maroons coach Billy Slater.

Horsburgh felt it would be tough to break into last year's Origin-winning team and said he'd simply be happy to make the squad.

Slater will name his team for Origin I following next weekend's round.

"Yeah I personally do think [I'd suit Origin], but it's not really up to me," Horsburgh said.

"I think they've kind of got their team cemented - they won last year - and I'd love to get in the squad.

"That's kind of my goal, just to get a bit of experience there, but if I play even better.

"I'd just love to get amongst it. That's the goal."

Both his coach Ricky Stuart and the 25-year-old felt he was unlucky to get sent to the sin bin, but Horsburgh admitted he needed to react better.

He denied it had anything to do with his run-in with Matterson three years ago, when Horsburgh limped off Parramatta Stadium in tears with a foot injury that ended his season.

Horsburgh's known for being an emotional player and said he's still a work in progress.

He hoped to learn from his mistake on Saturday night.

"It's just one of those things. I came in not thinking and that kind of happens in footy," Horsburgh said.

"I'm working on things like that and that split-second reaction's just got to be something else I guess.

"I've just to react better and do something smarter."

The Raiders face Manly at Canberra Stadium next Sunday with the Green Machine on a five-game winning streak.

They've struggled against the Sea Eagles recently, winning just three of their past 11 encounters.

But Horsburgh pointed to their 48-6 win over them at Canberra Stadium last year.

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He'll go into the game with slightly more motivation with an Origin spot on the line.

"The last few weeks I've been playing with [Origin] on my mind," he said.

"It doesn't really affect me. I just know I've got to play my style. I guess there's a little bit more motivation you could say, but I'm excited."

NRL ROUND 12

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Manly Sea Eagles at Canberra Stadium, 4.05pm.

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