AFL Snubs Australian Talent For Robbie Williams At The Grand Final - Noise11.com
Robbie Williams Heavy Entertainment Tour at Rod Laver Arena on Saturday 24 February 2018. Photo by Ros O'Gorman

Robbie Williams. Photo by Ros O'Gorman

AFL Snubs Australian Talent For Robbie Williams At The Grand Final

by Paul Cashmere on July 3, 2022

in News

It appears the all-Australian talent performing at the AFL Grand Final was short-lived. The borders are open and the AFL has delegated Australian talent to the bench. Robbie Williams has been named to headline the AFL Grand Final for 2022.

All that talk of how we should have Australian talent headlining Australian events was just that … talk. It was convenient during Covid but it turns out the AFL’s talent of choice is whoever they can nab with this endless budgets.

The AFL has long opted for international acts at the Grand Final. Who can forget the disaster of 2011 with Meat Loaf.

Or when the AFL really rubbed it in by getting international band The Killers to perform a local band Midnight Oil’s song.

And WTF was that Lionel Richie year all about?

The pandemic did Australian talent a favour the last few years. Eskimo Joe performed in 2021. Sheppard got a look in in 2020. When the pressure was on in 2019, Tones and I, Dean Lewis, John Williamson and Paul Kelly performed.

Sorry Australian music fans, Australian talent headlining the AFL Grand Final was short-lived.

Stay updated with your free Noise11.com daily music news email alert. Subscribe to Noise11 Music News here

Be the first to see NOISE.com’s newest interviews and special features on YOUTUBE and updated regularly. See things first SUBSCRIBE here: Noise11 on YouTube SUBSCRIBE

Noise11.com

Follow Noise11 on Social Media

Noise11 on Instagram

You’ll discover music news first following Noise11 on Twitter

Comment on the news of the day, join Noise11 on Facebook

Related Posts

Miami Horror supplied
Miami Horror, Sneaky Sound System and Bag Raiders to Headline Live at the Gardens 2025 in Melbourne

Melbourne’s Live at the Gardens series will hit euphoric heights this November with a triple-bill of Australian electronic heavyweights. Miami Horror, Sneaky Sound System and Bag Raiders will join forces for a one-night-only dancefloor celebration under the stars at the Royal Botanic Gardens on Saturday, 29 November 2025.

August 27, 2025
Salt N Pepa Facebook profile
Salt-N-Pepa Double Down: “Time to Fight for Our Rights” in Copyright Clash with Universal

Salt-N-Pepa are, taking on Universal Music Group in a battle over copyright ownership that could reshape how legacy artists control their music. Cheryl “Salt” James and Sandra “Pepa” Denton launched their lawsuit earlier this year, accusing Universal of unlawfully blocking their attempts to exercise termination rights, provisions in U.S. copyright law that allow artists to reclaim their work 35 years after handing it over in early contracts. Salt-N-Pepa say they followed every legal step, yet Universal refused their claim.

August 26, 2025
Missy Elliott, music news, noise11.com
Missy Elliott Averts Copyright Trial at the Last Minute in Pennsylvania Federal Court

In a dramatic turn, rapper, songwriter, and trailblazing producer Missy Elliott narrowly avoided heading to trial in a long-running copyright dispute, reportedly settling the case mere minutes before a jury was due to be selected in a Pennsylvania federal courtroom.

August 25, 2025
Rai Thistlethwayte The Fabulous Caprettos by Mary Boukouvalas
Sammy Hagar’s New Live Album Features Rai Thistlethwayte of Thirsty Merc

Sammy Hagar has always had a reputation for surrounding himself with powerhouse players, but his upcoming live album, Sammy Hagar & The Best Of All Worlds Band – The Residency (out October 10, 2025 via Big Machine Rock), brings a distinctly Australian twist. On keyboards, vocals and guitar is Rai Thistlethwayte, best known at home for fronting Thirsty Merc and more recently as a member of The Fabulous Caprettos. For Australian fans, the inclusion of Thistlethwayte in Hagar’s latest chapter is a striking reminder of how far the Sydney-born musician’s career has travelled.

August 24, 2025
Ugly Kid Joe Menace To Sobriety
Ugly Kid Joe Celebrate 30 Years of Menace To Sobriety With Deluxe Vinyl Reissue

In 1995, Ugly Kid Joe released Menace To Sobriety, their second full-length album. A heavier, darker, and more muscular outing than their blockbuster debut America’s Least Wanted, Menace was hailed by Kerrang! as “the album of the year.” Yet, in the United States, the record received little to no label support, leaving frontman Whitfield Crane to famously declare that their label was quietly backing away.

August 22, 2025
Five
Five Are Back – Keep On Movin’ 2026 Tour Set to Ignite Australia and NZ

After a 25-year hiatus, one of the UK’s most adored pop-rocket launches—Five—are back in full force. Sean, Ritchie, Scott, Abz and J Brown will reunite for the Keep On Movin’ 2026 Tour, roaring into Perth, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne—and even Auckland—next May.

August 22, 2025
Ed Kuepper and Jim White
Ed Kuepper and Jim White Announce First U.S. Shows With Mick Harvey

Ed Kuepper, twice inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame as a founding member of both The Saints and Laughing Clowns, will finally bring his acclaimed collaboration with Dirty Three drummer Jim White to the United States for the first time this November. The pair will perform in Los Angeles on November 4 and New York on November 17, with support from none other than Mick Harvey of The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds.

August 21, 2025