Warren Ryan was a St. George Dragons lower grade player. He played in the Dragons 1965 reserve grade grand final, and appeared in first grade on a number of occasions as a replacement during 1966. In 1967, he switched to the Cronulla Sharks in their debut season and became a regular in first grade, and was club Captain at different times during 1967–68. In 1969 he moved to Wollongong Wests and had four seasons there, the final two as captain-coach. He captained N.S.W. Country in 1972.
Broadcaster and journalist
Warren Ryan wrote for the Sydney Morning Herald for many years as a sports journalist. He is also a former member of the ABC Grandstand rugby league commentary team; where, rather than calling the match play itself, he supplied special comments throughout the broadcast. After quoting a scene from Gone with the Wind, and referring to a character as described in the film as 'old darky', Warren was stood down from the ABC with his colleague David Morrow pending an investigation. The scene he referred to is the famous 'quittin' time' scene in which a slave calls quittin' time, presuming the role of the foreman, also a slave, to call quittin' time. Having asserted his rights, the foreman immediately calls 'quittin' time!' Ryan's reference to this scene, which he quoted literally, was to illustrate an incident which showed an apparent lack of teamwork between the referees controlling the game. Before an investigation could commence, Warren Ryan resigned. He had intended to retire at the end of the 2014 season, but brought it forward rather than endure the investigation. Ryan said, "The word used to describe the character was a direct quote from the film. There was no offence intended, so I won't be apologising. It would be insincere. Furthermore, there is no appeasing those who are determined to be offended. So that's it. I've had a long run and, for the most part, it's been very enjoyable." He proposed his own finals system, an alternative to McIntyre Final Eight and AFL, but it was not accepted.
Personal life
In addition to his rugby league career, Ryan was also a longtime physical education teacher at Belmore Boys High School in Sydney's southwest. In April 2006, Ryan's son Matthew died of heart failure at age 24 following an overdose of the party drug, gamma hydroxybutyrate. On 11 November 2016, Ryan was charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm after an altercation at Pagewood Hotel. Ryan had allegedly assaulted the 75-year-old man over an argument regarding the outcome of the 2016 United States presidential election. On 23 October 2017, Ryan was found guilty of common assault at Waverley Local Court and was put on a 12-month good behaviour bond.
