For the first time in 54 years, legendary rugby league broadcaster Ray ‘Rabs’ Warren will be forced to call a game from a TV screen.

Sydney-based commentary teams have not been granted permission to enter Queensland for the State of Origin decider, with the exception of Andrew Johns.

Rabs told Jim Wilson being excluded from the warm-up makes it difficult to “learn the idiosyncrasies” of the players.

“I’m nervous about it, because … when COVID first struck, they were doing it from the studios, and I’d never done it.

“I said to them I’d rather wait til we go back to the ground before I basically come on board this year.”

Despite the challenge, Rabs was humble about the refusal.

“I wasn’t disappointed … mainly because there’s a lot of people who deserve an exemption moreso than myself.

“There’s people with dying relatives that people from Greater Sydney can’t get to see. I find that quite sorrowful, really.”

Click PLAY below to hear the full interview

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