But when the potential for that failed to materialise, the sports-mad Southlander settled for a career that was the next best thing — turf management.
Sitting at Forsyth Barr Stadium yesterday, Mr Warrender (21) said the choice meant that he was still heavily involved with sport.
He is one of the successful graduates of a partnership between Otago Polytechnic and Dunedin Venues Management Ltd.
In March 2018, the two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding to provide Otago learners with real-world work experiences.
It resulted in students engaging in a range of paid internships and casual, voluntary placements. After doing an internship there, Mr Warrender secured employment with DVML, where he was based at the University of Otago Oval.
While there was a strong cricket focus, he also helped out at the stadium, whether for rugby games or concerts.
Producing his own wicket for an Otago Sparks game had been his biggest achievement as he quipped it was "like getting the keys to a car".
While working at the likes of the Melbourne or Sydney cricket grounds might seem the ultimate, the ability to be sole charge, hands-on and "do everything" also had some appeal, and he would be keen to go somewhere like Molyneux Park or Invercargill in the future.
Membership services assistant Sacha Coghill (25) studied applied management, with a focus on events and tourism, graduating in December 2018.
Her internship flowed into a full-time job and she was finding it both fun and interesting. She even got to drive some of Fleetwood Mac’s party, on a golf cart, to the back of the stage — "just because I was in the right place".
DVML business development manager Kim Dodds said the company ensured the experiences were really valuable for the students.
They had to go through an interview process before going into areas of interest to them. The great thing about the business was there were so many facets, whether marketing, business development, human resources, event management, information technology or sustainability programmes, she said.
One former student, who had served an internship and then been employed by DVML, had gone on to work for one of the company’s clients in Auckland, one of the best professional conference organisers in the country, she said.
Mike Waddell, from Otago Polytechnic, said the success of the programme was that the students undertaking internships and other opportunities got to experience "real world real life" industry experiences and there had been some "fantastic" outcomes.
Polytechnic education was about "getting your hands dirty", learning on the job — "and taking your career where you want it to go".
It was also great to be able to work with a neighbouring business and the challenge was how to make more of those initiatives happen, he said.
