{"id":900477,"date":"2026-09-21T20:28:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T20:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/900477\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T20:28:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T20:28:20","slug":"nrl-world-rejoices-at-warren-smith-update-following-health-battle-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/900477\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL world rejoices at Warren Smith update following health battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

The NRL world is rejoicing amid news that beloved commentator Warren Smith is set to return to his duties on Fox League next season. <\/p>\n

Smith has been a staple of Fox\u2019s broadcasts for the best part of three decades, yet he has not been sighted in 2026, following multiple voice box surgeries.<\/p>\n

Smith typically calls two or three matches per round, but after struggling with his voice last season, he sought help following last year\u2019s NRL grand final, with scans revealing he was suffering from laryngeal carcinoma in situ -a precancerous condition of the larynx and vocal folds. <\/p>\n

What followed has been nothing short of brutal, with Smith undergoing six operations over a nine-month period.<\/p>\n

But Smith is finally on the mend, telling Code Sports<\/a> his voice is now the best it has been in years and that he plans to be back on deck in 2027.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately, it was discovered that the carcinoma had returned after the first three of those surgeries, so I underwent more laser surgery in April this year,\u201d Smith told Code.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen, more recently, I underwent two more surgeries to improve the function of the vocal cords, which involved having a stent inserted into my larynx for three weeks in August, which was by far the most uncomfortable period of the whole process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good news is that one month on from the stent being removed, my voice is the best it\u2019s been since the 2025 NRL season. While I\u2019ve missed all of the 2026 season, the signs are extremely positive for a return to calling footy in the 2027 pre-season.\u201d<\/p>\n

The positive update has the NRL world thrilled and looking forward to his return to the commentary box.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s one of the best in the business \u2013 speedy recovery to him & relief for us when he\u2019s back,\u201d Dee Peak wrote on X.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would be brilliant. Sorely missed,\u201d Brian de Groot commented. \u201cGood to hear,\u201d Alan Moriarty added. \u201cA great caller! I had wondered where he had been all year. Glad he\u2019ll be ok,\u201d a fourth said. <\/p>\n

\"Projectiles<\/p>\n

It comes after Smith revealed he wasn\u2019t happy with his display in last year\u2019s grand final and he\u2019s keen to get back on the mic in the near future.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hear the Broncos grand final story \u2013 which is airing at the moment \u2013 and I hear my commentary, and it\u2019s okay, but it wasn\u2019t me at my best. I don\u2019t want that to be my last ever game. We all end at some stage as far as our careers are concerned, but I want to go out on my terms,\u201d Smith previously told Code.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I\u2019m completely driven to get back and be as good as I can be once again, because it\u2019s great fun, man. \u201cI enjoy going to the footy, catching up with people, going to training sessions, speaking to coaches and learning more about the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s a great way to make a living and I\u2019m determined to get back to doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally published as NRL world rejoices at major Warren Smith update following health battle<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NRL world is rejoicing amid news that beloved commentator Warren Smith is set to return to his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":900478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[468551,466700,423204,10968,89838,384430,468561,409623,468529,468533,468530,468527,381261,425072,453238,468563,377225,9356,64,2347,63,468565,468524,468566,458626,1650,33087,68077,323947,468540,468541,468546,9116,1953,763,468567,208777,468556,468544,378779,454749,468537,36826,45755,468552,11554,468545,468549,388599,468548,468525,468534,468559,399220,761,762,10668,44,33725,158,444101,468550,389529,435506,1861,463266,425507,25984,129167,468543,468554,13477,398277,468553,85,468560,419414,468558,381352,377092,468568,468539,468538,426578,377453,468531,400086,468555,74713,387920,468542,468536,468547,225862,413608,468564,439345,468562,468532,468569,397213,380406,468526,468528,12644,444853,364611,468535,399404,391036,141801,468557,455001,8246,260817,32388],"class_list":["post-900477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-s-broadcasts","tag-s-grand-final","tag-s-nrl-grand-final","tag-10968","tag-89838","tag-a-fourth","tag-a-great-caller","tag-a-great-way","tag-a-living","tag-a-massive-update","tag-a-nine-month-period-but","tag-a-precancerous-condition","tag-a-return","tag-a-staple","tag-a-stent","tag-alan-moriarty","tag-all-year","tag-april","tag-au","tag-august","tag-australia","tag-beloved-commentator-warren-smith","tag-beloved-figure","tag-brian-de-groot","tag-cloud-nine","tag-coaches","tag-code","tag-code-sports","tag-deck","tag-dee-peak","tag-dramatic-loss","tag-far-the-most-uncomfortable-period","tag-footy","tag-fox","tag-fox-league","tag-great-fun","tag-health-battle","tag-his-display","tag-his-duties","tag-his-return","tag-his-voice","tag-laryngeal-carcinoma","tag-last-season","tag-last-year","tag-major-warren-smith-update","tag-man","tag-more-laser-surgery","tag-multiple-voice-box-surgeries-smith","tag-my-best","tag-my-commentary","tag-my-larynx","tag-my-last-ever-game","tag-my-terms","tag-my-voice","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-newcastle","tag-news","tag-next-season","tag-nrl","tag-nrl-world","tag-nrl-world-rejoices","tag-one-month","tag-our-careers","tag-people","tag-projectiles","tag-referee-ashley-klein","tag-relief","tag-scans","tag-situ","tag-six-operations","tag-smith","tag-some-stage","tag-sorely","tag-sports","tag-the-2025-nrl-season","tag-the-2026-season","tag-the-2027-pre-season","tag-the-best","tag-the-best-part","tag-the-broncos-grand-final-story","tag-the-business-speedy-recovery","tag-the-carcinoma","tag-the-commentary-box","tag-the-field","tag-the-first-three","tag-the-footy","tag-the-function","tag-the-game","tag-the-good-news","tag-the-larynx","tag-the-mend","tag-the-mic","tag-the-moment","tag-the-most-beloved-figures","tag-the-near-future","tag-the-nrl-world","tag-the-other-on-field-officials","tag-the-positive-update","tag-the-rugby-league-world","tag-the-signs","tag-the-sport","tag-the-stent","tag-the-vocal-cords","tag-the-warriors","tag-the-whole-process","tag-this-year","tag-those-surgeries","tag-three-decades","tag-three-weeks","tag-training-sessions","tag-two-more-surgeries","tag-two-or-three","tag-update","tag-vocal-folds","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=900477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/900477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/900478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=900477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=900477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=900477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}