{"id":902087,"date":"2026-09-23T04:20:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-23T04:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/902087\/"},"modified":"2026-09-23T04:20:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T04:20:16","slug":"nrl-grand-final-pre-game-entertainment-vlandys-scrapping-the-show-after-tones-and-i-fallout-is-a-kick-in-the-teeth-to-fans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/902087\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL grand final pre-game entertainment: V\u2019landys scrapping the show after Tones and I fallout is a kick in the teeth to fans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Opinion: When I think of sport, I think of music; the Super Bowl half-time show, Eye Of The Tiger playing over the iconic Rocky montage, the TikTok edits of the Paris 2024 Olympics to Taylor Swift\u2019s The Alchemy.<\/p>\n

Which is why I think it\u2019s an absolute travesty the NRL grand final will be going ahead without any pre-game entertainment<\/a> after talks with Aussie singer Tones and I collapsed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Tones<\/p>\n

Tones and I broke her silence on the NRL grand final hours after news of negotiations for her to headline the sporting event had fallen through.\u00a0Graphic: Polly Hanning<\/p>\n

Every year, millions of Australians who don\u2019t watch any other NRL games tune in to the start of the grand final just to see who hits the stage.<\/p>\n

Crowds at the stadium love it, and diehard fans, casual watchers, supportive partners and kids at home are happy to take in the spectacle before kickoff.<\/p>\n

I follow the NRL (mainly for the office tipping comp) and most games make it onto the TV in my house, but I only really watch the start of the grand final with proper dedication \u2013 and that\u2019s because I want to see the pre-game show.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always a sight to behold. Even if the artist isn\u2019t to my taste, or they do a poor job, you know it\u2019s going to be a hot topic for the next few days.<\/p>\n

Aussies bond over loving or hating it every year, which is why it\u2019s such a disappointment that this year, the NRL will be giving fans absolutely nothing because talks with Tones and I\u2019s team broke down last week.<\/p>\n

To be honest, I don\u2019t think Tones and I was ever the right choice for the gig.<\/p>\n

Though she\u2019s a four-time ARIA Award winner and certified hitmaker with tracks like Fly Away and Dance Monkey, she doesn\u2019t really fit the NRL grand final vibe. <\/p>\n

Nor did last year\u2019s pick for pre-game entertainment, Teddy Swims. <\/p>\n

The cast of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical was a bizarre choice for 2022, and Kate Miller-Heidke in 2021 and Amy Shark in 2020 failed to impress many fans waiting to watch 80 minutes of grown men tackling each other bloody.<\/p>\n

It seems the NRL has had an entertainment problem for years now.<\/p>\n

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has failed to attract the calibre of international talent that once made millions tune in to witness headline acts like Macklemore, Keith Urban, Slash, and Good Charlotte.<\/p>\n

Even some of its Aussie picks have felt like the wrong fit, not because artists like Tones and I or Amy Shark are bad, they just don\u2019t make the kind of punk or rock tunes that get a crowd going for a grand final.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a reason The Kid LAROI was a massive hit in 2024; he\u2019s current, and he makes music that gets NRL fans pumped.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Kid LAROI was a major hit at the 2024 NRL Grand Final match.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

If the NRL wants Aussie artists, give us Amyl and The Sniffers, Parkway Drive, or Stand Atlantic, or even Royel Otis or Tame Impala.<\/p>\n

Give us something big, something modern, something hype. But give us something, at least.<\/p>\n

Tones and I, whose real name is Toni Watson, revealed today that she couldn\u2019t do the grand final due to a prior commitment with Macklemore<\/a> in the US.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn offer was presented to Tones via management on September 5. Tones had a prior commitment with Macklemore in America and explored all avenues to make it work,\u201d a statement from her rep to ABC Sport read.<\/p>\n

\u201cNothing was signed or confirmed in writing. Due to the last-minute nature and prior commitments by Tones, we were unable to accept the offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tones and I wished NRL the best and even offered a list of possible replacements via an Instagram Story on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

She suggested Aussie artists like G Flip<\/a>, Ruel, Budjerah, Baker Boy, and Kaiit should get the opportunity.<\/p>\n

Clearly she agrees anything is better than empty stage at the grand final.<\/p>\n

\"G<\/p>\n

G Flip, Ruel and Budjerah are among Tones and I\u2019s NRL grand final entertainment suggestions.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

On Wednesday morning, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V\u2019landys told Today the NRL has long considered scrapping the pre-game entertainment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been toying with the idea for a couple of years now in putting \u2013 rather than spending a hundred thousand dollars a minute over 11 minutes on a performer \u2013 into grassroots underprivileged kids,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a bit like buying a cheeseburger for the pickle. You don\u2019t do that. You buy it for the cheeseburger.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added that it cost about $1-1.5 million for an 11-minute production, money he\u2019d rather spend on grassroots NRL projects.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than giving a performer $90,000 a minute, we would prefer to give it to grassroots,\u201d he told the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that the entertainment is our game. It\u2019s more the media that put themselves into a frenzy who we get as performer. But when you look at it realistically for 11 minutes, it\u2019s not worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will come to the game with or without it. We believe the money is better spent on junior rugby league.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Peter V\u2019landys insists the NRL was already considering scrapping the pre-game show.\u00a0Dominic Lorrimer<\/p>\n

My response to that is simple.<\/p>\n

The NRL hit record audiences, record attendance, record participation and the strongest financial position in the game\u2019s history in 2025, raking in a record $845.6 million in revenue.<\/p>\n

I reckon it could probably stand to spend $1 million on a pre-game show and inject another $1 million into junior rugby league.<\/p>\n

So, in the humble words of the little girl in the Old El Paso ad: Why not have both?<\/p>\n

Anything is better than an empty field before a grand final.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Opinion: When I think of sport, I think of music; the Super Bowl half-time show, Eye Of The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":902088,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-902087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902087","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=902087"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/902087\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/902088"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=902087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=902087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=902087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}