Amy Shark led an all-star cast of Australian musicians for a special NRL Grand Final performance at Sydney’s Accor Stadium on Sunday night.
The Australian singer-songwriter opened the performance with a rendition of “You’ll Never Walk Alone” in tribute to South Sydney Rabbitohs star Jai Arrow, who was forced to medically retire from the NRL earlier this year, following his Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis.
Screaming Jets frontman Dave Gleeson then joined Shark, taking the lead on 4 Non Blondes’ “What’s Up?” as the pair performed together in front of the packed Sydney stadium. They were joined by Peking Duk’s Reuben Styles on guitar and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers’ drummer Neve van Boxsel.
Grinspoon frontman Phil Jamieson then joined the group for a rendition of Tina Turner’s “The Best”, a song that famously became synonymous with the sport through the NRL’s iconic campaigns of the early 1990s.
The performance ultimately delivered on a promise NRL chairman Peter V’landys had made in the lead-up to Sunday’s decider, after weeks of uncertainty surrounding this year’s Grand Final entertainment.
Tones And I had initially been approached to perform the pregame show, though her management later told Rolling Stone AU/NZ that existing commitments in the US meant she was unable to accept the offer, stressing that “nothing was signed or confirmed in writing”.
Following the breakdown of those plans, V’landys said the league would instead put the roughly $1 million it would have spent on Grand Final entertainment towards helping underprivileged children play rugby league. He nevertheless insisted there would still be a performance on Grand Final night, later teasing that something special was still being planned.
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During Sunday night’s broadcast, NRL Hall of Famer and former sports commentator Ray Warren confirmed the NRL would follow through on V’landys’ pledge, announcing that $1 million would go towards a fund helping underprivileged children participate in rugby league.
