The Killers and Macklemore give plenty to grand finals in Australia

When music and sport combine, powerful things can happen – as those at both the AFL and NRL grand finals found out over the weekend.

The AFL's big day – in front of over 100,000 at the MCG – featured The Killers, who got off to a good start by dropping a Midnight Oil cover into their brief pre-game set. Acknowledging the local legends was a classy touch, as was choosing the song Forgotten Years

Then, during their main post-game show at the ground, The Killers were joined on the stage by Jack Riewoldt. Jack’s not a noted name in music, but he'd just kicked a couple of goals on the way to helping the Richmond Tigers to their first title in 37 years.

Jack had mentioned to his media manager that he loved The Killers, which set off a series of conversations resulting in him being one of the few people – alongside the likes of Sir Paul McCartney – to have joined The Killers on stage. You can see Brandon Flowers and Jack belting out Mr Brightside below.

 

Things were more serious in Sydney, where Macklemore was the headline act at the NRL grand final, watched by over 80,000 at ANZ Stadium.

With one of his biggest songs being Same Love, and the country in the midst of voting on same sex marriage, Macklemore was a contentious choice by Todd Greenberg and the NRL. But the crowd made Macklemore feel loved and the occasion brought a tear to the eye of Ian Roberts, the NRL's first - and, still, only - openly gay player.

"It will save lives," said Ian.

 

Voting on the Australian marriage law closed on November 7.

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Caley Wilson writes about entertainment and sport. He is a former media manager of New Zealand Rugby League and netball's Northern Mystics and has worked on festivals from Rhythm & Vines to the Big Day Out. He is a co-founder of Blinder.