The NRL Grand Final Entertainment: Fans Divided Over Jai Arrow Tribute

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The NRL Grand Final has always been about more than the 80 minutes of football.

It is the biggest night on the rugby league calendar. A celebration of the game, its fans and the players who have spent an entire season chasing a premiership.

Traditionally, that has meant a big pre-game entertainment act. This year, however, the NRL has taken a very different approach.

After Tones and I withdrew from the Grand Final entertainment plans, the NRL initially appeared prepared to have no musical performance at all.

Peter V'landys even argued that the money earmarked for entertainment could instead be used to help disadvantaged children play rugby league. But the league eventually changed course.

Now, instead of simply replacing Tones and I with another headline performer, the NRL is planning to put Jai Arrow at the centre of its Grand Final entertainment.

That decision has divided fans.

Jai Arrow deserves to be celebrated

There should be absolutely no debate about whether Jai Arrow deserves recognition.

The South Sydney forward was forced into retirement earlier this year after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease. Since then, the rugby league community has rallied around him.

He returned to the field for South Sydney's final games, including his 100th NRL appearance, and the song You'll Never Walk Alone became synonymous with his farewell.

Arrow was also awarded the Provan-Summons Medal at Wednesday night's Dally M Awards, recognising the values of respect, honesty, bravery and sportsmanship.

The Grand Final tribute will reportedly see Arrow complete a lap of Accor Stadium while Australian musicians perform You'll Never Walk Alone, with the crowd encouraged to perform his famous bow-and-arrow celebration.

There is something genuinely powerful about that. It isn't manufactured entertainment. It is a moment connected directly to the game and one of its players.

Arrow himself has embraced the opportunity to use his profile to raise awareness for MND.

But is this really Grand Final entertainment?

This is where the debate begins. There is a difference between honouring Jai Arrow and providing Grand Final entertainment.

Some supporters have welcomed the decision, believing the NRL doesn't need to spend huge money bringing in a pop star when it has an opportunity to create a meaningful moment for one of the game's most beloved players.

Others have questioned whether the league has essentially turned a deeply emotional tribute into a replacement for the entertainment act it failed to secure.

Those aren't mutually exclusive positions. You can believe Jai Arrow deserves every bit of recognition coming his way while also believing the NRL Grand Final should have a major musical performance.

The AFL Grand Final, for example, showed just how much spectacle can be created around a sporting event with Kylie Minogue performing in front of a huge audience.

That comparison has inevitably increased scrutiny on the NRL's decision.

The timing makes it even more complicated

The Arrow tribute comes after a messy few weeks for the NRL's entertainment plans.

Tones and I was originally scheduled to perform before pulling out. The circumstances surrounding that withdrawal became a public talking point, and V'landys initially suggested the league would simply redirect the money elsewhere.

Then came the mystery. V'landys teased that the NRL had something planned and claimed it would be an extremely highly-rated 11 minutes.

The league eventually revealed that the focus would be on Arrow. The result is that Arrow has suddenly become one of the biggest talking points surrounding Grand Final week despite the fact that he isn't actually playing in the Grand Final.

That has understandably created mixed reactions.

The danger of making Jai the entertainment

There is another uncomfortable question worth asking. Does putting Arrow at the centre of the Grand Final entertainment risk placing too much pressure on him?

The league says the moment is about his courage and about raising awareness for MND.

Arrow himself made a similar point when speaking to the ABC after the Dally Ms. He said the tribute wouldn't just be for him, but for everyone fighting MND.

Because the last thing this should become is a spectacle built around Arrow's illness.

He deserves to be celebrated as Jai Arrow the footballer, teammate and person, rather than simply being defined by his diagnosis. The NRL appears to understand that, but the execution will matter enormously.

Many fans have expressed the view that Arrow has already had plenty of spotlight this season, with many questioning when the tribute acts will cease.

That's not an attack on Arrow or trying to diminish the severity of his diagnosis, and his bravery in his efforts to battle it. Just simply, many NRL fans seem to feel the focus on Arrow is oversaturated.

Maybe the answer was to do both

The most obvious solution may have been incredibly simple.

Celebrate Jai Arrow, but also put on a proper Grand Final performance. There was never a reason those two things had to be mutually exclusive.

The NRL could have used the opening of the entertainment segment to honour Arrow, allow him to take his lap of honour and give the crowd its moment of recognition.

Then bring out a major Australian artist. That would have given fans the emotional moment they are expecting while still delivering the spectacle traditionally associated with Grand Final night.

Instead, the Arrow tribute has effectively become the entertainment, and that is why the reaction has been so divided.

Ultimately, the moment belongs to Jai

Whatever people think about the NRL's entertainment strategy, Sunday should ultimately belong to the players and Arrow is one of the people who has made this season about much more than football.

His story has touched people well beyond South Sydney. His battle has raised awareness of MND.

His return to the field for his 100th game gave rugby league one of its most emotional moments of the season.

Now he has an opportunity to walk around Accor Stadium one more time while thousands of rugby league fans stand together behind him.

That should be a special moment. The question isn't whether Jai Arrow deserves the spotlight.

The question is whether the NRL should have made that spotlight the entirety of its Grand Final entertainment.