Peter V’landys has reopened the door for a last-minute act to perform before the 2026 NRL Grand Final.
The newly appointed NRL executive chairman previously abandoned plans to spend approximately $1 million on a headline performer after negotiations with Tones and I failed.
That money remains earmarked for grassroots rugby league, but several Australian artists have since offered to perform for considerably less.
“There could be a surprise,” V’landys told CODE Sports, according to Fox Sports.
Shannon Noll has publicly volunteered and proposed using the performance to honour Australian rock icon Angry Anderson.
Noll Offers Affordable Alternative
Noll revealed he would accept an invitation to perform at Accor Stadium before the October 4 premiership decider.
“I put a post up saying I was available just so we wouldn’t have a nothing show there,” Noll said on the Today Show.
“I didn’t expect it to blow up as quick as it did. It was just saying if you need someone I am free and would love to do it.”
The former Australian Idol runner-up also proposed performing Rose Tattoo’s You Can’t Be Beaten as a tribute to Anderson, who died this week.
“Given the tragic news of Angry Anderson, who was a great mate of mine, I thought what a great tribute it would be to him,” Noll said.
The song would fit naturally within a rugby league grand final production.
Anderson already holds a famous place in Australian sporting entertainment after performing Bound for Glory while travelling around the MCG in a Batmobile during the 1991 AFL Grand Final.
A tribute featuring one of Australian rock’s most recognisable voices and songs would provide the NRL with a culturally relevant performance without requiring another million-dollar agreement.
Grassroots Funding Should Remain Protected
V’landys initially decided against hiring a replacement after determining that the entertainment budget would produce a greater return through junior rugby league.
The reported amount approached $1 million.
“Rather than giving a performer $90,000 a minute, we would prefer to give it to grassroots,” V’landys said when explaining the decision.
He argued the money could help between 2,000 and 3,000 children cover registration, equipment and other costs associated with playing rugby league.
That commitment should remain intact even if the NRL adds a late musical act.
Noll has already suggested his fee would leave almost the entire allocation available for junior participation.
“I am not holding my breath,” he said.
“I think one thing is there would be plenty of money left over for grassroots footy.
“We are better off having someone there than no one, so I thought I’d put my hand up and say I am available.”
The NRL does not need to choose between supporting junior players and providing pre-game entertainment.
It needs to avoid repeating the expensive headline-act model V’landys had already rejected.
A modestly priced Australian performance could fill the entertainment slot while preserving the overwhelming majority of the grassroots investment.
Tones and I Dispute Is Less Clear Than First Reported
The NRL’s original negotiations with Tones and I have produced competing explanations.
Reports claimed the agreement failed because the singer would not guarantee that her global hit Dance Monkey would appear in the set.
The NRL reportedly considered the song essential if it was going to commit close to $1 million to an approximately 11-minute performance.
However, Tones and I’s management did not identify the proposed set list as the reason negotiations ended.
“Tones had a prior commitment with Macklemore in America and explored all avenues to make it work,” her representatives said in a statement reported by The Music.
“Nothing was signed or confirmed in writing.
“Due to the last-minute nature and prior commitments by Tones, we were unable to accept the offer.”
That distinction is important.
The breakdown should not be presented definitively as an argument over one song when neither party has publicly confirmed that version.
There may have been discussions surrounding Dance Monkey, but the artist’s official position is that scheduling and the late offer prevented an agreement.
V’landys has also attempted to remove any suggestion of personal hostility.
“I’m a fan of Tones and I,” he said.
“She is a great performer, no doubt about that, and she’s got some great songs, but we both decided to go in a different direction.”
The Sporting Base previously examined why V’landys believed the proposed headline performance did not represent sufficient value.
The new information suggests the situation was more complicated than a simple refusal to perform Dance Monkey.
NRL Can Create a Better Australian Showcase
The failed negotiation may ultimately lead the NRL towards a more suitable entertainment model.
Recruiting a major performer can add scale to a grand final, but expensive international acts are not the only way to produce an engaging show.
An Australian rock tribute involving Noll and other local artists could feel more closely connected to the audience inside Accor Stadium.
It could also be assembled without sacrificing the grassroots funding V’landys has promised.
The timing creates obvious production challenges.
The NRL must finalise performers, rehearsals, staging, broadcast requirements and security within little more than a week.
Any late addition must also complement the entertainment already planned rather than creating a rushed performance that appears improvised.
V’landys previously said the halftime entertainment would be “out of this world” and insisted the grand final would contain plenty of entertainment despite lacking a major pre-game artist.
A smaller musical performance could now complete the program.
V’landys Has Changed His Position Slightly
The possibility of a surprise act represents a shift from V’landys’ earlier announcement.
He initially suggested the NRL would proceed without a major pre-game performer and redirect the entire budget.
That decision was financially defensible.
The grand final will attract a substantial crowd and television audience because of the match, not the musicians appearing before it.
However, V’landys also risked creating the impression that pre-game presentation carries no value.
It does.
A grand final is more than 80 minutes of football. The surrounding production helps create anticipation, gives broadcasters additional content and distinguishes the premiership decider from an ordinary fixture.
The correct question was never whether the NRL needed to spend $1 million.
It was whether the league could produce an entertaining show at a sensible price.
Noll’s offer appears to provide exactly that opportunity.
Angry Anderson Tribute Would Give Performance Meaning
A tribute to Anderson would carry greater emotional significance than urgently booking an unrelated artist merely to fill time.
The Rose Tattoo frontman was one of Australian rock’s most distinctive figures and possessed a genuine connection with sporting spectacle.
You Can’t Be Beaten also carries the energy required for a grand final performance without feeling artificially attached to rugby league.
Noll’s personal friendship with Anderson would give the tribute authenticity.
The NRL could potentially involve Rose Tattoo members or other Australian musicians, although no agreement has been announced.
Care would still be required.
A memorial should not become a convenient promotional response to an entertainment problem. Anderson’s family and representatives would need to be comfortable with the proposal, while the performance should properly acknowledge his career rather than merely borrowing a familiar song.
Handled respectfully, it could become one of the most memorable parts of the grand final program.
The NRL Should Avoid Another Expensive Deal
V’landys’ “surprise” should not involve reversing the entire grassroots decision and spending close to $1 million on another artist.
That would undermine his argument that the money could produce a greater benefit through junior rugby league.
It would also make the original announcement appear reactionary rather than strategic.
The stronger outcome would be a relatively inexpensive Australian performance combined with a clearly defined grassroots funding commitment.
The NRL should eventually disclose where the redirected money will be spent, how many participants will benefit and whether the funding will continue beyond one season.
That transparency would demonstrate that the junior investment was more than a useful publicity line following the Tones and I negotiations.
A late act and meaningful grassroots support can coexist.
Noll has effectively offered the NRL a solution: a recognisable Australian performer, a fitting tribute and a fee that would preserve almost all of the money intended for junior players.
V’landys has not confirmed what the surprise will be.
But after deciding rugby league did not need a million-dollar singer, he may have discovered that the best replacement was an Australian artist willing to perform because the occasion mattered.
