The Perth Bears continue their push for fielding a competitive side in Round 1 next year after Canberra Raiders forward Corey Horsburgh has agreed to terms with the expansion club.
News Corp is reporting Horsburgh has been tabled a three-year deal worth $2.3 million over three seasons to make the switch to the west coast.
Horsburgh will earn a reported $700,000 a season, with ratchet clauses in the contract to inflate his earnings following the record-breaking TV rights deal kicking into gear in 2028.
It is understood Horsburgh has been weighing up a move out of Canberra, with Brisbane Broncos being idenitifed as the preference.
However, the premiers weren't able to accommodate the Maroons representative's price tag, which has allowed Mal Meninga to swoop in and seal the deal with the fiery prop.
Following earlier News Corp reports, the Raiders gave permission for Horsburgh to look elsewhere last month, and upon meeting with Meninga in Canberra on Wednesday, the deal was done to have him lead the Bears pack in their maiden season.
“Corey said the meeting with Mal went really well,” Horsburgh's agent Jeff Jurotte said to the Daily Telegraph.
“Corey just feels like he wants a change. He felt that way even before what happened on the weekend with Ricky.
“It's not just football, Corey feels like he wants a change off the field as well.
“His preference was to return to Brisbane because that's where he grew up and we checked the Broncos out a few years ago (in 2024) when Kevvie Walters was there, but it didn't work out at the time.
“I've spoken to the Broncos again in the last few weeks but their feedback is they can't afford him, but Corey likes the idea of going to Perth.
“He doesn't have any real interest in living in Sydney or Melbourne, but he is excited about a fresh start in Perth and being part of history with the Bears.”
Horsburgh has played 133 NRL games since his debut in 2019, and has played all but a handful of games for the green machine.
The 28-year-old went on loan to the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in 2021 during the COVID-19 affected season, wearing the blue and white twice before returning to the nation's capital.
It comes as the Bears were unable to land Junior Paulo, with earlier reports from News Corp the two parties couldn't agree on a price for the Samoan international to make the switch to Western Australia.
Horsburgh was dropped from the Raiders lineup for their upcoming clash with the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday afternoon following a brain-snap against the Knights.
It saw the Raiders forward go to the sin bin after he slapped Dane Gagai, changing the momentum of the game and essentially ending their season with a crucial loss.
