Inside Sport chats with Rabs back in 2010

Legendary rugby league commentator Ray Warren’s “barometer” for volume and excitement during a call is the crowd.

The likes of Phil Gould and Peter Sterling add colour, but Ray Warren rules.
Images: Channel Nine

It’s why only “Rabs” could’ve matched the emotion of the away supporters as tryscorer Mark Coyne finished off Queensland’s famous 60-metre, ten-sets-of-hands passage in the 79th minute to clinch game one of the 1994 State of Origin series at the SFS. Over the top of his “barometer” that night, he famously bellowed of Coyne’s winning four-pointer, “That’s not a try, that’s a miracle!” No one has ever argued otherwise. And why would they? The 66-year-old voice of rugby league, who has also brought us descriptions of big-time swimming meets for years, has seen it all on the Origin stage, from gladiatorial contests in the SCG mud, to The King’s heroics, to Joey’s domination. It’s why Inside Sport decided to catch up with him in the lead-up to another thunderous interstate series to find out how close New South Wales is to stopping Queensland’s now four-year stranglehold of the annual showcase, which in 2010 celebrates its 30th anniversary.

Once, if a Queenslander played footy in Sydney, he used to be picked for NSW. What were your first thoughts back in the late ‘70s on the proposed system of players playing for the state in which they played their first senior footy?

I had great doubts about its success – the “mate against mate” thing. I couldn’t see how that could work. I was okay with “state vs state”, but the other side of the equation had me worried. But, like a lot of others, I was happy to sit back and give it a go, and thankfully a lot of people did.

Before the current Origin concept was introduced, they were moving the interstate match around all over the place, basically to keep it away from the public eye. The Queenslanders had long memories of the fact that NSW was importing players down here to play football for us. This was something QRL chairman, Senator Ron McAuliffe, despised and I think NSWRL boss Kevin Humphries agreed with him, even though he probably didn’t want to be too audible about it. But they eventually got together and said, “Look, this [the interstate lopsidedness – up to 1980, NSW had won 55 of 65 matches since 1961] has got to change.

Should State of Origin be played before or after the annual Australia vs New Zealand Test?

I still think Test match football should be the pinnacle, even though it’s probably not. The pecking order should be City/Country first – if we have to have it. Personally, I don’t know that it means what it used to. Providing it’s a full-on trial for Origin, then it’s okay, but I don’t think it is. Then should come Origin, it’s on a pedestal, and then the Test.

Fitting it all in before the finals is very difficult, though … Our international football used to be played after the end of the season. The Kangaroo Tour, where we’d tour England for a couple of months, always used to be played post-grand final, but I don’t think that’s ever going to find legs again.

What’s the best night of the week for Origin football to be played?

That’s an unsolvable problem. We’ve tried everything – Origin standalone weekends, we’ve played it on every night of the week … I think we’ve found it sits best on a Wednesday night. I had no problem with an Origin-only weekend. But then, I can still remember the people, the fans, screaming out, “Where’s our club football?” They were pretty loud in their voice and with good reason. I really feel sorry for the administrators who are trying to find the right place for it.

Andrew Johns NSW "Wally"
Images: Channel Nine

Do you believe in the “Queenslander spirit” which southerners supposedly don’t understand?

Almost immediately you could see that Queensland was really going to take to it. They exhibited passion from the very commencement. They’d been getting bashed up for years by NSW … with Queensland players!

I have no doubt the spirit exists. Prior to Origin, I can still remember a caller actually breaking down crying when they did win a match. In between tears, he said, “Isn’t it great to be a Queenslander?” Queensland, because of the origins of Origin, were hungrier and more passionate. It was more meaningful to them.

NSW has lost four series straight now. When are the Blues finally going to win one?

If you look at the number of hours and minutes the two teams have played over all those years, the times they’ve played, there’s actually very little between them. It’s almost even-stevens, with Queensland putting its nose in front more recently with the four-peat. But as we speak, the age and ability question marks are out there on Darren Lockyer. And Queenland have lost a fellow called Dallas Johnson, who’s gone to England to play football. Justin Hodges is injured. Israel Folau, will he be picked? They don’t have as many to choose from as we have, it’s just that the ones they do have are more often than not champions of the game. So it wouldn’t shock me if it turns around this year.

We can’t talk Origin without mention of The King. What’s your favourite Wally Lewis Origin memory?

The second game of the ’89 series at the SFS in Sydney was probably his greatest moment in Origin football. He scored the winning try and he stood there like a colossus among all of them and raised the flag. That night he basically had his troops in the hospital ward. Most of his big names were wounded. A couple of the others were still out there playing wounded.

Will NSW ever have a “Wally” to call our own?

Well, in fairness, we had Andrew (Johns). But Andrew didn’t have the time at Origin level – because of injury – that Wally did. What we did see from Andrew was his return after the neck injury and his total domination of the ’05 series. So there was every reason to think that he could’ve done what Wally did, but Andrew just didn’t get the time. That’s why Lewis is the one they talk about when they talk Origin. 

The two greats of Origin: Andrew Johns and Wally Lewis.
Images: Channel Nine

Has Maroon legend Paul Vautin settled down over the years, or is he as excitable as ever come Origin time?

Paul is so passionate about Origin, it’s not funny. In fact, we’re all passionate about Origin, but the Queenslanders on our commentary team, you can see that glint in their eye, you can hear the excitement in their voice. And he typifies to this day how important it is to Queensland. He and people like Chris Close in particular typify more than anyone what I mean when I talk about the passion of Queensland.

Can you ever see the day when Origin is taken into international markets, like LA in 1987 and more recently the Bledisloe Cup in Japan?

No, I can’t. The fact is you can take a rugby match up to Japan, because, in part, they do understand rugby. It’s more of a global game than rugby league. You’d have to be stupid not to believe that. To take a game to Japan in their code is not stupid. I think you’re possibly repeating the vision that Super League had. In fact, that was their vision. They were the words of John Ribot: “We’ll take the game to the world.” We haven’t quite taken it to the world. It’s played a little bit in England, it’s played in New Zealand …

Will New Zealand and English reps ever be allowed in on the Origin action?

It’s called State Of Origin. It’s built around this hatred, or friendly rivalry, between NSW and Queensland, but it is a shame that people like Benji Marshall, who went to Keebra Park High School in Brisbane, can’t be involved. Some people believe that “origin” means where you’re born, others believe it’s where you played your first junior football … that would then qualify Benji. And I still think Benji should be able to play for New Zealand and maybe still play for the state where he played his first junior football.

I suppose I’m trying to open up a little crack that lets those players in. There’s others. Blokes like Nathan Cayless, another New Zealander, come to mind.

Do you have a favourite Origin try that sticks in your memory?

The two outstanding Origin tries over the years have been Mark Coyne’s in ’94 and Billy Slater’s in ’04. Coyne was on the end of 10 or 11 passes. It was just incredible. I think the call says “that’s a miracle”. There’s a scream in the background, that’s Fatty. It wins. Slater’s try, with the kick, re-gather, then kick again in ’04 is next best. Greg Dowling caught a rebound off the crossbar at the SCG in mud up to his shoulders in ’84. It wasn’t a spectacular try, but it was certainly freakish.

The voice of Origin today.
Images: Channel Nine

Do you do anything differently when preparing for an Origin match?

I probably do a bit more research for an Origin match than an NRL one, but there’s no such thing as preparation, really. I like to think I’m the play-by-play commentator. I don’t believe that with my role, when I’m surrounded by people like Sterling, Gould, Lewis, Vautin, Fittler and Johns, that people are interested too much in what my opinion is. So I concentrate on just getting my own role as good as I can make it.

We couldn’t imagine you doing anything else than calling the footy and swimming. How did it all begin?

I come from a little place called Junee in NSW. I’ve known I wanted to be a sports commentator since I was eight years old. I used to roll marbles down a slope and call them as horses and try to impersonate the famous race-caller Ken Howard. That eventually led to me sitting in gum trees or on top of the grandstand roof calling the local cricket, or standing in the main street in 1956 looking at a TV and calling the sport to myself with people thinking I was stark-raving mad. There was nobody within a bull’s roar who even remotely resembled a sports commentator for me to go to. I just taught myself.

Somebody once said to me: “There’s a couple of things you have to remember when calling sport: light and shade.

I remember them emphasising that you must listen to the crowd; they’ll tell you when to be light – excited. If they’re quiet, that’s your shade. I find the crowd is my barometer.

– James Smith