Nine ‘scrambling’ as Ray Warren State of Origin mystery intensifies

Channel 9 will have to make alternate arrangements if one of the network’s most iconic figures remains absent for Origin I next month.

Ray Warren is a living legend. Picture: Gregg Porteous

Ray Warren is reportedly still unsure if he will commentate this year’s State of Origin opener, leaving Channel 9 to arrange alternate plans if the veteran broadcaster is missing from the blockbuster clash.

Warren hasn’t called a game for Nine this NRL season and according to reports over recent months, is weighing up whether retirement is the right move or if he should continue his career behind the microphone.

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Warren is one of Australia’s most loved commentators and in March told The Daily Telegraph he was “tortured” by whether or not to keep going.

“I actually asked them not to put me on the roster,” Warren said at the time. “I need more time and Channel 9 understands the enormity of my decision. They’ve been very generous and told me to take my time.”

The Sydney Morning Herald reports on Friday Warren met with Nine sports director Brent Williams during the week about his future, but no firm decision was made. The report adds network insiders think Warren is a “50-50 proposition” to be on deck for Origin I — scheduled for Wednesday June 8 — with Nine bosses “scrambling” to make plans for what the interstate clash will look like without the 78-year-old.

Mat Thompson is in the running to take over play-by-play calling duties if Warren doesn’t return to the commentary box.

Ray Warren is the voice of rugby league. (Photo by James Gourley/Getty Images)

Warren is the voice of rugby league in Australia and his absence from Origin I would be a massive blow to both Nine and footy fans.

When contemplating retirement, many professional athletes are driven by the fear of going on for one season too long, rather than walking out on top — and it’s the same for Warren.

“I’m tortured by it,” Warren told The Daily Telegraph in March. “I’m full of fear. I’d hate to wake up one day and think I’ve made the wrong call.

“You can’t jump out then jump back in. And I don’t want to undo or damage anything good that I’ve done over a long period of time.

“Honestly I’m not trying to do a Cameron Smith and keep them guessing. I’m still thinking about it.”

Warren signed a five-year contract with Channel 9 in 2017 — extending through to the end of the 2022 season — but he is yet to make an appearance in the commentary box this season.