NRL icon Ray Warren admits to struggles with retirement: ‘Like cutting off my left arm'

7NEWS

13 hours ago

Rugby league commentary icon Ray Warren has revealed he is still coming to terms with retirement after four years out of the game.
The 82-year-old, widely regarded as the voice of the sport in Australia, called time on his 55-year career in 2021 after 99 State of Origins and 45 NRL grand finals.
Since his departure, Warren has resisted several calls to come out of retirement, including a big push to have him come back for a one-off Origin match last year.
Despite that, the man known as 'Rabs' said on Monday he is yet to find peace with being on the sidelines.
'I'm not handling that (retirement) all that well to be honest with you, because leaving what I was doing was like cutting off my left arm,' he told 2GB.
'It was a playground; I don't think I ever went to work. I went to play, but I don't think I ever got Mondayitis.
'But it's gone now. I was 78 when I gave it away, so I didn't have much longer to go anyway.'
Warren says people do still come up to him in the street to tell him they miss his voice, and that he has toyed with the idea of a return if he were able to call from home.
'Oh yeah, and it's flattering and I guess I love it deep down, but I don't think they realised I was 78 when I gave it away, and I didn't want to undo all the good I might have done,' he said.
'That's the long and the short of it. But now I sit down in the lounge room and think I might be able to do a call from home.
'But it was a fabulous time in life for me — it went 55 years! It was a great five and a half decades.'
Games being called remotely has become more prominent with some broadcasters since the COVID-19 pandemic, given its necessity at that time. Seven remains in-stadium, though, for every game it covers across all flagship sports.
Asked how his health was generally, Warren said: 'I've been OK, I mean, if I start telling you of the illnesses I've got, we'd be here for a couple of days. But no, I'm going OK.'