Eighth Immortal and Newcastle Knights legend Andrew Johns has called upon iconic Hunter-based music band Silverchair to reform and have them play at the 2026 Grand Final.
Silverchair dominated the Australian rock scene in the 1990s and 2000s and has been a massive talking point heading into Grand Final week.
Further momentum grew after it was revealed the NRL's main entertainment plans, Tones and I, fell through on performing following a last-minute disagreement with NRL head honchos.
Silverchair remains synonymous with Newcastle lifestyle and would complete an incredible build-up to the Knights' first Grand Final appearance in 25 years.
The band split in 2011 following crew members losing their spark after two decades of dominance in the Australian music spotlight.
Johns has called for Silverchair to re-join in one show for the novoastrians to help deliver the Provan-Summons trophy back to Newcastle.
"We just need Silverchair. Boys, we need you to play to make it the greatest Grand Final you've ever seen," Johns said on Nine's TODAY show.
Johns has famously recalled a story after the 1997 Grand Final victory when he got frontman Daniel Johns to sing for the side in their premiership celebrations in the early hours of the morning.
"Come on, boys, come on, Daniel. After I kidnapped him, he put an AVO out against me," Johns said jokingly with a smile.
"Come on, Daniel, Chris and Ben, come on boys!"
To further double down on his stance, Joey grabbed his brother Matthew to help with the push to have Silverchair or other iconic Newcastle band The Screaming Jets perform at the Knights Grand Final.
“We're trying to get Silverchair to play,” Johns said on Nine's Freddy and the Eighth on Tuesday.
“Me and Matthew 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. Or Gleeso [David Gleeson] with The Screaming Jets.”
The Sydney Morning Herald reports drummer Ben Gillies and bass guitarist Chris Joannou are happy to perform as the entertainment act, but it is currently unknown where final member Johns stands.
The Knights' fans are again expecting to flood Accor Stadium after their impressive turnout last weekend.
It saw 57,000 fans pack into Sydney's premier stadium, marking the fourth-highest-attended preliminary final in NRL history.
The Knights will travel to Sydney to face the Roosters in the big dance on Sunday night.
