Thurles Sarsfields Minor and under-21 Corbett joined the
Thurles Sarsfields club at a young age and played in all grades at juvenile and underage levels. He enjoyed championship successes in the minor and under-21 grades before joining the club's senior team. On 15 October 2000, Corbett was selected at right wing-forward when he lined out in his first
Tipperary Senior Championship final. He scored a point from play but ended the game on the losing side after a 2–10 to 0–11 defeat by
Toomevara. Corbett lined out in a second successive
final on 11 November 2001. He was held scoreless throughout the entire game and ended the game as a runner-up for the second year in-a-row after the 1–22 to 1–13 defeat by Toomevara. For the third year in succession Thurles Sarsfields qualified for the
final on 3 November 2002. Corbett scored three points from left corner-forward in the 0-14 apiece draw with
Mullinahone. He was switched to centre-forward for the replay on 10 November 2002 but was held scoreless in the 2–10 to 1–11 defeat. On 12 October 2003, Corbett played in a fifth
final in four seasons when Thurles Sarsfields faced Toomevara for the third time. He top scored for Sarsfields with 2-01 from left corner-forward in the 3–19 to 3–16 defeat. After a one-year hiatus, Corbett lined out in a sixth
final on 16 October 2005 with Thurles Sarsfields facing
Drom-Inch. He was held scoreless from left corner-forward but collected his first
winners' medal after the 1–17 to 0–15 victory. On 19 October 2008, Thurles Sarsfields faced Toomevara in the
final once again. Corbett lined out at centre-forward and scored a point from play, however, he ended the game on the losing side after a 2–14 to 0–17 defeat. Corbett played in a second successive
final on 18 October 2009 when he lined out at full-forward against Drom-Inch. He was held scoreless throughout the game but collected a second winners' medal following the 0–14 to 0–05 victory. On 31 October 2010, Corbett lined out in a third successive
final. Playing once again at full-forward, he ended the game with a second successive winners' medal - his third overall - after the 1–16 to 1–07 defeat of
Clonoulty-Rossmore. On 28 November 2010, Corbett lined out against
De La Salle in the
Munster final and scored a point in the 0–09 to 0–08 defeat. On 14 October 2012, Corbett won a fourth championship medal after a 1–21 to 2–15 defeat of Drom-Inch in the
final. On 25 November 2012, he won a
Munster Club Championship medal after scoring three points in a 1–21 to 1–16 defeat of De La Salle in the
Munster final. Corbett lined out in his 11th
final with Thurles Sarsfields on 2 November 2014. Playing centre-forward, he scored two points from play and collected a fifth winners' medal after a 2–22 to 3–11 victory over
defending champions Loughmore-Castleiney. On 25 October 2015, Corbett was selected at full-forward in a second consecutive
final appearance with
Nenagh Éire Óg providing the opposition. He ended the game with his sixth winners' medal after the 1–18 to 3–11 victory. Corbett was selected at left corner-forward when Thurles Sarsfields faced
Kiladangan in the
final on 16 October 2016. He scored a point from play and claimed a seventh winners' medal overall after the 0–17 to 1–15 victory. On 8 October 2017, Corbett lined out in his 14th
final as the club reached a fourth successive decider. He claimed an eighth and final winners' medal after scoring two points from left corner-forward in the 1–24 to 0–11 defeat of
Borris-Ileigh.
Inter-county Early success Corbett, having never played minor hurling for Tipperary, arrived on the inter-county scene in 2000 when he lined out against
Clare in the South East League. He played no further part for the senior hurlers that year, however, he was included on the Tipperary under-21 team. In 2001 Corbett became a regular member of the starting fifteen as Tipperary made it all the way to the league final.
Clare provided the opposition and were left to rue five missed goal opportunities as Tipperary claimed a 1–19 to 0–17 victory. It was Corbett's first
National Hurling League medal. He made his championship debut on 3 June 2001 in a narrow 0–15 to 0-14 Munster semi-final defeat of Clare. Corbett subsequently won his first
Munster medal as Tipperary defeated
Limerick by 2–16 to 1–17 to take their first provincial title in eight years. On 9 September 2001 Corbett lined out in his first All-Ireland decider as Tipperary faced
Galway. The westerners put it up to Tipp, however, two goals by
Mark O'Leary gave the Munster men the threshold to withstand a Galway comeback. With nine minutes to go Galway were only a point in arrears, however, Tipperary outscored Galway by five to three in those closing minutes. At the final whistle Tipperary were the winners by 2–18 to 2–15 with Corbett collecting his first
All-Ireland medal.
Stagnant period Tipperary surrendered their Munster crown to
Waterford in 2002, before later exiting the championship with a defeat by
Kilkenny at the semi-final stage. Corbett's season was hindered by hamstring injuries and he started just two of Tipperary's six championship games. Tipperary's fortunes took a downturn over the next few years, with Corbett continuously suffering from injuries. He managed just a single seventy-minute championship stint under
Michael Doyle in 2003, while he started just two championship games during
Ken Hogan's tenure as manager, finishing neither.
Return to success The appointment of
Liam Sheedy as Tipperary's new manager saw Corbett take on a more prominent role as a goal-scoring forward. Tipperary remained undefeated during their 2008 league campaign and qualified for the decider against Galway. A Corbett goal proved decisive in the 3–18 to 3–16 victory. It was his second league medal. Corbett later collected a second Munster medal as Tipperary continued their winning streak with a 2–21 to 0–19 defeat of a resurgent Clare. Tipperary retained their provincial crown in 2009, with Corbett collecting a third Munster medal following a 4–14 to 2–16 defeat of Waterford. On 6 September 2009 Tipperary faced four-in-a-row hopefuls Kilkenny in the All-Ireland decider. For long periods Tipperary looked the likely winners, however, late goals from
Henry Shefflin and substitute
Martin Comerford finally killed off their efforts to secure a 2–22 to 0–23 victory. In spite of this defeat Corbett was later presented with his first
All-Star. Three successive Munster titles proved beyond Tipperary, however, in spite of a shock defeat by
Cork in the provincial quarter-final, Tipperary used the qualifiers to good effect and qualified for the All-Ireland decider on 5 September 2010. Kilkenny were the opponents once again as they sought a fifth successive All-Ireland crown title. "The Cats" lost talisman Henry Shefflin early in the game due to injury, while Corbett ran riot and scored a hat-trick of goals before
Noel McGrath added a fourth. The 4–17 to 1–18 victory gave Corbett, who was named
man of the match, his second All-Ireland medal. He later won a second successive All-Star while he also made a clean sweep of the three
Hurler of the Year awards. Tipperary reclaimed the provincial crown in 2011 following a huge 7–19 to 0-19 drubbing of Waterford in the decider. Corbett, who scored 4–4 in that game, collected his fourth Munster medal. Tipperary subsequently faced Kilkenny in a third successive All-Ireland decider on 4 September 2011. Goals by
Michael Fennelly and
Richie Hogan in either half gave Kilkenny, who many viewed as the underdogs going into the game, a 2–17 to 1–16 victory. Corbett was marked by Jackie Tyrell who held him scoreless throughout the game, however despite his lack of influence in the final, he later collected a third successive All-Star award.
Retirement and return On 6 February 2012 Corbett announced that he was leaving the Tipperary team due to work commitments. He subsequently reversed his decision and rejoined the panel in time for the championship campaign. Tipperary won their fourth Munster crown in five years in 2012 as they easily retained the title. The 2–17 to 0–16 defeat of Waterford gave Corbett a fifth provincial winners' medal. In the subsequent All Ireland semi-final against Kilkenny, Corbett was assigned the role of man marking Kilkenny defender
Tommy Walsh around the pitch, with Kilkenny assigning
Jackie Tyrrell to mark Corbett. The marking battle between the players developed into a sideshow and nullified Corbett's own game as he remained scoreless during the game which Kilkenny won by 4–24 to 1–15. Various analysts and reporters heavily criticised the tactic after the game. The replay on 27 September 2014 was also a close affair. Goals from brothers
Richie and
John Power inspired Kilkenny to a 2–17 to 2–14 victory. A knee injury ruled Corbett out of much of Tipperary's league campaign, however, he returned to training on 15 April 2015. He later won a sixth Munster medal when he was introduced as a substitute in Tipperary's 0–21 to 0-16 provincial decider defeat of Waterford. On 18 November 2015, Corbett announced his retirement from inter-county hurling.
Inter-provincial In 2007 Corbett was first picked for the
Munster inter-provincial team. He was at left corner-forward that year when he won his first
Railway Cup medal following a 2–22 to 2–19 defeat of
Connacht. After playing for Munster again in 2008 Corbett was absent from the team until 2013 when he was included on the starting fifteen for the final against Connacht. The game faded out in the final quarter, however, Munster claimed a comprehensive 1–22 to 0–15 victory, with Corbett collecting a second winners' medal. ==Personal life==