There are always two memorable takeaways from AFL Grand Final Day.
First and foremost, the quality of the game and the performance of the teams. Secondly, the pre-game entertainment and how good or bad it was.
In 2024, Katy Perry is set to be the Firework that sparks the MCG, and the crowd is ready to hear her Roar.
The AFL has had its fair share of trying to nail the perfect headline entertainment act for its biggest day of the year. All up, there have been more misses than hits in overall performance.
For every flag-waving performance, butchering of Waltzing Matilda’s, and of course, Meatloaf, there have been some that have risen to the occasion of Australian sports' biggest day with a performance to match.
Here are Sportsbet’s top five AFL Grand Final Entertainment performances.
Robbie Williams – 2022
Robbie asked the MCG if he could “let me entertain you.”
He offered us protection, a lot of love and affection, and delivered probably the best AFL Grand Final pre-game entertainment ever.
He belted out his hits and paid tribute to a pair of Aussie icons before an epic performance of Kids with Delta Goodrem.
It was a five-star performance that took the three votes on the day.
The Killers – 2017
The Crows fans will hate this because one of the most iconic songs on the charts has become a trigger for bad memories.
In a rare win for the AFL in picking entertainment for GF Day, they had a rare win. A big-name band with big, well-known hits. It couldn’t possibly go wrong.
It didn’t. It was a pre-game performance to remember, only to be enhanced by their post-game performance when Jack Riewoldt climbed up on stage and started belting out “Mr. Brightside” with Brandon Flowers.
Lionel Richie – 2010 Replay
The only one in the MCG who was happy with the idea of coming back the next week was Andrew Demetriou.
The drawn game meant another big crowd was guaranteed, and it gave the AFL a chance to redeem themselves on the entertainment front after INXS delivered a sub-par performance.
Luckily for the AFL, Lionel Richie was in town and just so happened to have a vacancy on Saturday.
He took his chance with the late call-up and ran with it. He played his hits, and by the end of the night, the Pies fans were dancing all night long.
Ed Sheeran & Tom Jones – 2014
The AFL decided it was going to go with some Smooth FM vibes this year. This isn’t necessarily the vibe for Grand Final Day, but if you pick your artists well, it might be ok.
Luckily for their sake, they picked two good options. A young Ed Sheeran who was slowly bursting onto the scene and the legendary Tom Jones.
It would prove to be the warm-up to Sheeran returning to play his sold-out shows almost a decade later back at the G.
He warmed up the crowd with a rendition of his old faithful, Sing and The A-Team before handballing over to Jones who belted out his hits.
Birds of Tokyo & Hunters & Collectors – 2013
It’s not too hard to not put on a good show when you pick these guys.
For Andrew Demetriou’s final Grand Final as the man in charge, he went all out, and when his call connected to Mark Seymour, he stumbled upon the holy grail.
First up, Perth based band Birds of Tokyo, who would make their first two AFL Grand Final appearances with a warmup performance with their newest hit Lanterns.
Then, Hunters and Collectors asked the MCG to throw their arms around each other as they played some good old-fashioned, Aussie rock and roll.
Hits a plenty. Always a winner.
Then the Not so Good:
There were a few to pick from across the journey, but the standouts remain memorable and meme-worthy to this day.
Angry Anderson struggled to get through Bound for Glory in the back of a batmobile. Jet had promise in 2007, but the audio quality was only slightly better than Port Adelaide’s performance that day.
Dean Lewis and Tones and I put the MCG crowd to sleep before Jimmy Barnes came on to save the day in 2019. Ellie Goulding was accused of Lip Syncing in 2015, which almost caused yet another Australia-England international incident.
And then, of course, there was Meatloaf, who was better off just keeping the words inside his mouth.
If this catches your fancy then continue reading on across the Sportsbet Huddle and explore our range of AFL history, from AFL Positions Explained to the less enviable title of Most AFL Wooden Spoons of All Time and even the positive Most AFL Premierships in History.