The 20-year-old forward had just finished his seventh league game, and kicked his biggest return of four goals since making his debut in round four against Essendon.
But even the young Queenslander's excellent effort wasn't enough to deliver victory for the Kangaroos against the Brisbane Lions, which led to his conflicted emotions.
"It was a little bit bittersweet. It was nice to be able to contribute and kick those goals, but at the end of the day those four goals didn't get us over the line," he said after the game.
"I guess it does give me a bit of confidence but in saying that, you don't know how to feel about it.
"We didn't win. Hopefully next week, we get a different result."
Warren agreed he had snuck under the guard of the Lions in his roaming role that saw him gather 12 possessions and take eight marks.
"We have our own little roles to play every week and mine is to push up the ground and get more of the ball and leading and stuff like that as well," he said.
"I played the same role as I have every other game but I guess this one, I managed to get into a little bit more space."
Warren said he couldn't help but be a little taken aback when first running out on Saturday afternoon, given the number of his childhood heroes on the field.
"Being a Brisbane boy you pretty much just get exposed to the Lions," he said. "In their premiership years, I had a lot of favourites in their team and I was almost a little bit star-struck today.
"When I lined up I saw Simon Black and Jonathan Brown and boys like that that I always looked up to, and it was great to be out there playing with them.
"Josh Drummond and Cheynee Stiller are from the Zillmere Eagles, which is where I got drafted from, so they were always around the club every now and then.
Warren said his life had altered dramatically in the past 12 months, after first coming to the Kangaroos as a 17-year-old in late 2006.
"Things have changed a lot. At the start of last pre-season, I was nowhere near playing AFL football," he said.
"I'm just happy that now I'm playing and I'm also able to contribute."
