Knights legends Andrew and Matthew Johns have been hitting the phones in pursuit of their own grand final miracle – convincing fellow Newcastle icons Silverchair to reform and fill the NRL’s entertainment void.
Silverchair have not played publicly since 2010 but the Johns brothers have started a public campaign to fill Sunday’s empty time slot since the NRL’s talks with pop star Tones and I spectacularly fell over last week.
Sources speaking on the condition of anonymity have indicated that Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies and bass guitarist Chris Joannou are both willing to perform as part of grand final day.
Andrew Johns has been especially vocal in pushing for the band to reform for one night only, and shares a long history with the Newcastle locals. He famously dragged a 15-year-old Daniel Johns out of bed – early in the morning – to join the Knights’ 1997 premiership celebrations.
Former frontman Johns’ commitment, however, looms as the biggest hurdle to what would surely be the greatest grand final entertainment story in the game’s history – and one to match Newcastle’s rise from wooden spooners to this year’s decider.
Johns, 47, rarely makes public appearances, and there is long-standing friction between the private and reclusive star and his former bandmates.
Even if they were on good terms and wanted to use the grand final to mount a comeback, it would be a tough assignment after so long apart.
“It’s a good idea but a band at that level needs more than a week and a half’s notice,” said one leading music agent, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“Even if they were totally into it, it would still be difficult. You’ve got to get a crew together and maybe record backing tracks. It’s not so easy.
“They would obviously want to put on a good show. If they’re going to get back together for something like that, they’d want it to be really good.”
Andrew Johns, however, remains unperturbed. He has privately run the idea by ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys, who has dropped several hints of a grand final day entertainment “surprise” since this masthead revealed negotiations with Tones and I had fallen through last week.
“We’re trying to get Silverchair to play, I can’t kidnap Daniel again,” Johns said on Nine’s Freddy and the Eighth show on Tuesday, referencing those famous Knights 1997 grand final celebrations.
“Me and Matthew and have sent him a couple of messages. Could you imagine Silverchair playing 15 minutes before kick-off? You’d have 75,000 Novocastrians singing along with Silverchair. Or Gleeso [David Gleeson] with The Screaming Jets.”
Unfortunately Gleeson is already booked up on Sunday as well, with The Screaming Jets frontman performing with supergroup The Fabulous Caprettos on grand final night.
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Dan Walsh is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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