Updated ,first published
The NRL will stage a stirring tribute to Jai Arrow during Sunday’s grand final in place of the customary pre-game entertainment.
Australian Rugby League Commission executive chairman Peter V’landys has teased a must-watch “surprise” in store ahead of kick-off between the Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights at Accor Stadium following the breakdown of talks with Australian artist Tones and I.
According to sources with knowledge of grand final plans, it will involve Arrow – who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease earlier this year – completing a lap of honour to the strains of the Gerry and the Pacemakers song You’ll Never Walk Alone, which will be performed by a collection of Australian artists.
As the 31-year-old circles the venue, the sold-out crowd of about 80,000 will be asked to celebrate him by gesturing as if they are firing an arrow.
Arrow’s lap of honour is scheduled to take place from 7.05pm, 25 minutes before kick-off, and is illustrative of an NRL intention to promote grand finals with “moments that matter”.
It has yet to be revealed which artists will be involved in the performance of You’ll Never Walk Alone, which is famously sung by supporters of English Premier League giants Liverpool FC at their home games.
The NRL has said it will also direct $1 million towards junior rugby league development in lieu of a payment to a big-name artist after a deal with Tones and I fell through.
The ARIA award winner’s management said she had been unable to take up the offer due to its “last-minute nature” and a prior engagement with American rapper Macklemore in the United States.
But sources told this masthead that the arrangement had collapsed in the last fortnight because she did not want to perform her smash-hit Dance Monkey, which she has said previously she loathes.
It left the NRL without a headline act for the grand final while code rival the AFL secured Kylie Minogue, who performed a selection of her most recognisable tracks before a crowd of 100,023 in the lead-up to last Saturday’s epic between Brisbane and Fremantle.
The absence of a traditional pre-game show raised questions about whether the gloss would be taken off the grand final as an event, which is always one of the highest rating television programs of the year, and where the average ticket price has edged towards $200.
But V’landys last week defended the decision after the Tones and I fiasco, saying the NRL believed that “that the entertainment is our game” and quipping that “you don’t buy the cheeseburger for the pickle”.
Honouring Arrow in such a way at the grand final certainly looms as the most touching and emotional occasions.
The game has united behind the former Queensland State of Origin forward in his fight against the insidious disease.
The NRL and Souths joined forces for the “World’s Biggest Birthday Party” for Arrow at the Rabbitohs’ match against the Knights in July, which raised an estimated $1 million for Arrow’s family and MND research.
He was then able to clock up the two remaining appearances he needed to reach his milestone of 100 games for the club, leaving the field moments after the whistle blew to begin Souths’ matches against the Gold Coast Titans and Roosters.
There were moving scenes before the Titans game at CBus Super Stadium as Rabbitohs coach Bennett helped put Arrow’s socks and boots on for him.
You’ll Never Walk Alone was played as he made his way onto the ground for Souths’ matches against the Titans and Roosters, the latter before a crowd of 40,000 at Allianz Stadium.
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Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.
