The AFL has booked Kylie Minogue for its decider, continuing its long-standing advantage over the NRL in pre-match entertainment.
The NRL grand final will have no comparable musical production this year, after a proposed ten-minute performance was expected to cost more than $1 million.
That spending would have been difficult to justify while grassroots funding, particularly in country areas, remains well below what is needed.
Casual viewers may tune in for the spectacle, but the writer has never known anyone to watch the NRL grand final specifically for its music act.
State of Origin entertainment is also frequently cut or omitted by Nine while the network concentrates on other pre-match coverage.
For the NRL, the central attraction on grand final day should be the sport rather than a concert.
The AFL may regard the decision as a victory, especially since Peter V'Landys regularly criticises that code.
Its previous grand-final acts have included The Killers, KISS, Katy Perry, Robbie Williams, Eskimo Joe and Ed Sheeran.
Minogue will probably deliver a strong performance, although the article questions whether viewers are tuning in primarily to see her.
The AFL would also prefer people to forget its disastrous Meatloaf appearance several years ago.