Amy Shark, The Screaming Jets & More To Reportedly Perform At 2026 NRL Grand Final

Amy Shark Profile

Just a few days after rumours circulated that this Sunday’s (4 October) NRL Grand Final pre-game entertainment would feature Jimmy Barnes, Kate Ceberano, Jon Stevens, and Jessica Mauboy, it seems that some other Aussie acts are more likely to perform.

According to a new report from The Australian, pop star Amy Shark is expected to be joined by members of Newcastle icons The Screaming Jets, rock favourites Grinspoon, EDM duo Peking Duk, and rising rockers Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers for a pre-match tribute to South Sydney player Jai Arrow.

The all-Australian musical group will reportedly perform You’ll Never Walk Alone – the Gerry and the Pacemakers tune popularised by its use as the Liverpool F.C. anthem – in support of 30-year-old Arrow, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease earlier this year.

The Australian reports that the musicians are set to donate their appearance fees to causes that support people living with motor neurone disease. The publication also noted that NRL boss Peter V’landys is moving his sights away from traditional pre-game entertainment performances in the future, with a new focus on presenting “moments that matter.”

The reported tribute to Arrow may be the first of what could turn into an annual tradition for rugby league.  

Amy Shark previously performed at the NRL Grand Final in 2020, while Grinspoon took to the stage on the big day in 2004. While acts like Peking Duk and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers have never performed at a Grand Final, they’ve both played major festivals, and the latter has opened shows for Pearl Jam.

Last week, reports emerged that negotiations with Tones And I to perform at the NRL Grand Final had apparently fallen through, leaving the main event without a pre-match entertainment headliner.

Sources claimed the negotiations broke down because the NRL insisted she play her 2019 hit, Dance Monkey. However, her team confirmed that prior commitments touring with Macklemore in the US left her unable to accept the offer when it was made in September.

On Monday, V’landys teased a mystery act to perform for eleven minutes at Sydney’s Accor Stadium ahead of the Grand Final match.

“I’ve got to tell you – it’ll be the highest-rating 11 minutes you will ever see, because no one knows what it is, and we won’t tell until the night,” V’landys told journalists, via 7 News.

He added, “And a lot of people will be surprised. There will be something, but I am not saying what it is. Stay tuned.”

Those comments followed remarks he made last week, in which he said there’d be no pre-game entertainment performance and that fans had plenty of entertainment in NRL.