The NRL\u2019s pre-game entertainment plan will reportedly centre on a touching tribute for Rabbitohs great Jai Arrow, as Silverchair confirmed they won\u2019t be reuniting for a performance at the grand final.<\/p>\n
Just days after rugby league supremo Peter V\u2019landys said viewers would be \u201cvery entertained\u201d, The Australian<\/a> has revealed the league will use the prime time slot to honour Arrow with a lap around the field. <\/p>\n Get the expert take on NRL Grand Final Day with FOX LEAGUE\u2019s extensive coverage, plus full and mini replays available post-game on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n The NRL has been left scrambling to fill the prestigious pre-game appearance after talks broke down with <\/a>Tones and I<\/a> to perform at Accor Stadium. <\/p>\n There had been widespread calls from fans including Knights royalty Andrew and Matty Johns for iconic Australian band Silverchair to reuinited for a performance at the NRL Grand Final. <\/p>\n Silverchair, made up of frontman Daniel Johns, Ben Gillies, and Chris Joannou, burst onto the Australian music scene in the 1990s at the same time Newcastle won premierships in 1997 and 2001. <\/p>\n Andrew Johns famously \u201ckidnapped\u201d a then teenaged Daniel Johns after the 1997 grand final win, and the Knights legend had led calls fo Silverchair to get back together, even through the band has not played a show since 2010. <\/p>\n Unfortunately, those calls will not be answered. Daniels Johns took to social media to say the band was too \u201crusty\u201d to perform, but threw his support behind the Knights. <\/p>\n \u201cFor the first time in ages, the three of us actually agree wholeheartedly about something: GO KNIGHTS!!!,\u201d a joint statement from Silvershair read.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about the Knights this weekend. We love how footy brings this community together, and it\u2019s pretty special watching the whole Steel City get behind the boys.<\/p>\n \u201cThanks to everyone who\u2019s asked if we\u2019re playing before the game. We\u2019re way too rusty, so sorry, no can do. We won\u2019t be taking the stage, but we\u2019ll be supporting as loudly as everyone else and there in spirit.<\/p>\n \u201cWishing the Newy players all the luck in the world this Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cUP THE KNIGHTS!!! From The Chair x\u201d<\/p>\n According to The Australian, Tones and I has been replaced by a production that will see mystery Australian artists perform together to honour Arrow, who was forced into immediate medical retirement this year following a diagnosis of motor neurone disease at age 30.<\/p>\n The Australian reports the undisclosed artists will combine to sing Gerry and the Pacemakers classic You\u2019ll Never WalkAlone in an a cappella style performance. <\/p>\n According to the NRL\u2019s run sheet, the official \u201cpre-game\u201d festivities begin at 6.30pm with the game kicking off at 7.30pm. <\/p>\n According to Nine, Arrow will be sitting in the back of a car during the performance which will reportedly begin after 7pm. <\/p>\n Fans divided over classy Arrow gesture<\/p>\n Rugby league fans have taken to social media to share their opinions about the plan for the show to go ahead without any headline act.<\/p>\n Fans have expressed concerns about the plan to use Arrow\u2019s tribute as form of entertainment. <\/p>\n One X user posted: \u201cI have no problem with it as long as it\u2019s not supposed to be a manipulative substitute for failing to have any entertainment booked\u201d. <\/p>\n Another fan posted: \u201cJai isn\u2019t for our entertainment. A tribute isn\u2019t entertainment. Surely it\u2019s at the point of him just being used now. Give him prime seats and let him be\u201d. <\/p>\n Australian sports journalist Jon Tuxworth wrote: \u201cPVL legit thinks we\u2019re all stupid\u201d. <\/p>\n Other fans, however, praised the NRL for putting Arrow at centre stage. <\/p>\n One X user posted: \u201cNow people are sooking that Jai Arrow is going to do a lap of honour to we will never walk alone at the gf. Amazing experience for him and his family\u201d. <\/p>\n Another X user posted: \u201cToo smart again Peter Vlandys. NRL Grand Final pre-game will be next level across Australia with the Jai Arrow tribute, while Tones and I are playing at Echuca.\u201d<\/p>\n It was earlier suggested a \u201clight show\u201d will also feature. <\/p>\n Veteran rugby journalist Paul Kent reported on Fanatics TV: \u201cThe whisper is, it’s going to be a light show. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve probably got those drone things that they had at Vivid that crashed into Darling Harbour.\u201d<\/p>\n V\u2019landys on Monday confirmed the league had a plan in place after Tones and I pulled out. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got to tell you, it\u2019ll probably be the most high-rated 11 minutes you\u2019ll ever see because no one knows what it is, and we won\u2019t tell you until the night,\u201d V\u2019landys said at the grand final launch in Sydney.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd a lot of people will be surprised.<\/p>\n \u201cThere will be something, but I\u2019m not saying what it is. So just stay tuned at 11 minutes to, and you\u2019ll see.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think you\u2019ll be shocked, but you\u2019ll be very, very well entertained, put it that way.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week\u2019s pre-game entertainment announcement came with a separate pledge that the NRL would spend $1 million on grassroots rugby league.<\/p>\n V\u2019landys confirmed that was still going ahead just days after Aussie legend Kylie Minogue put on a show at the AFL Grand Final.<\/p>\n \u201cMy prime aim was to give $1 million to kids that can\u2019t play the game; underprivileged kids that can\u2019t buy boots, that can\u2019t get registered, that can\u2019t get insurance. All their mates are playing and they can\u2019t,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that to me is more important than anything. And I want to really develop that fund into millions of dollars, not just a million dollars.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s something else that will take some expenditure, but not quite to the level of what we would normally spend.<\/p>\n \u201cKylie\u2019s an icon, so you can never underestimate Kylie, but is that Sandilands you\u2019re talking about?\u201d<\/p>\n More than 80,000 fans will pack out Accor Stadium to watch the premiership decider between the Knights and Roosters. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NRL\u2019s pre-game entertainment plan will reportedly centre on a touching tribute for Rabbitohs great Jai Arrow, 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