Fallout with star leaves NRL with no pre-game entertainment for grand final

The NRL grand final will be held without a headline pre-game entertainment act after negotiations with Australian artist Tones and I collapsed over her set list.

The development comes five months after the AFL secured Kylie Minogue for its grand final, which will be contested this Saturday at the MCG between the Fremantle Dockers and the Brisbane Lions.

The absence of a major attraction for the NRL decider at Accor Stadium on Sunday week is a blow for broadcaster Nine, with pre-game entertainment viewed as an important factor in drawing casual viewers to the television spectacle.

Instead, the NRL, which in July struck a $5.3 billion broadcast deal, has said it will donate $1 million to junior rugby league in lieu of payment to a big-time star.

Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys said earlier this year the NRL would look into having Grammy award-winning English singer Olivia Dean play at the grand final. She begins her Australian stadium tour in Melbourne on October 5, the day after the NRL premiership winner is determined.

Talks have since been held with multiple ARIA award-winner Tones and I, whose major hit from 2019, Dance Monkey, went No.1 in more than 30 countries.

According to sources, negotiations with the 33-year-old’s team fell over. At issue was whether Tones and I would play Dance Monkey, which the NRL was adamant was non-negotiable, but she would not commit to.

V’landys confirmed the NRL had been in negotiations with the artist but had decided the money was better spent on the junior game than for “11 minutes of entertainment”.

“Rather than giving a performer $90,000 a minute, we would prefer to give it to grassroots,” he said on Tuesday.

“We believe that the entertainment is our game. It’s 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’s not worth it. People will come to the game with or without it. We believe the money is better spent on junior rugby league.”

The NRL grand final will now go ahead without a notable pre-game entertainment offering.

V’landys said he had spoken to the NSWRL before the discussions with Tones and I broke down about directing the unspent funds to the grassroots game and would speak to the state leagues about how they should be distributed.

“We’ve been toying with this idea for two years and we’ve done it,” he said.

“What’s important to me is how good our game is, that it attracts an audience on its own. It doesn’t need a musical act.

“I’d prefer to spend [the money] on getting 2000 or 3000 kids who couldn’t afford to play rugby league be able to play rugby league now. We’ll give it to kids who are underprivileged who can’t afford to play the game with their mates. I think that’s a better use of the money than $90,000 a minute for an artist.”

He said Nine, the owner of this masthead, would be able to sell more advertising in the lead-up to the grand final without pre-game entertainment.

The NRL had American chart-topper Teddy Swims perform at the 2025 grand final and over the years there have been a range of other international and Australian stars on the bill including The Kid LAROI, Good Charlotte, Macklemore, Kelly Clarkson, Cold Chisel and Jimmy Barnes.

V’landys has been interim NRL CEO for the past two months and is set to take over as the game’s first full-time executive chairman for the next three years.

While the code will be flush with cash as a result of the record seven-year broadcast windfall, the long-time sports administrator is notoriously disciplined about cutting costs.

He has even removed pot plants from NRL headquarters in Moore Park and replaced them with footballs to avoid spending money watering them.

The Dolphins will host the Sydney Roosters in one preliminary final at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night, and Penrith Panthers will take on the Newcastle Knights in the other at Accor Stadium on Sunday.

The winners will advance to the grand final.