Under a clear blue sky on a sunny spring Sunday, 80,000 NRL fans descended upon Sydney’s Olympic Park to witness a significant moment in sporting history. Making the most out of such an event was the brands, who put on a Reece Walsh-esque show.
Last Sunday at the NRL grand final, major partners had the opportunity to be part of the hero and iconic milestone of the codes sporting calendar. Front and centre of the day was JD Sports—the official sports retail partner of the NRL—who saved its biggest sporting activation for NRL fans. B&T was on the ground to check it out.
“While we’ve activated across other sports before, we’ve gone bigger than ever for the NRL—creating something that authentically rewards and celebrates the fans at the scale the NRL Grand Final deserves. JD has built a reputation for actively partnering with the biggest global cultural sporting moments,” said Matt Ashkar, media and sports marketing manager, JD Sports ANZ.
Fans were amazed by a massive JD Sports x Nike Shoe Box which sat outside the gates at Accor stadium. The Grand Duffle was a bold oversized build that dropped JD Sports right into the heart of grand final day, designed to feel like it was apart of the action. The activation itself was put together by experiential agency And People.
Fans from around the country and across the Tasman flocked inside the duffle box to take home the latest Nike styles and JD Vouchers (over 3,000 prizes were given away).
The build also featured a photo moment on the opposite side where fans could take a selfie with the duffle and enter to win a 2026 NRL GF Experience. The fan selfies were than played on the big screens inside the stadium across the whole day thanks to KOMO.
Jumping on “one of the biggest sporting moments in the year” with JD was Nike.
“Nike is JD Sports’ largest global brand partner, and we both live and breathe the intersection of sport and lifestyle. We work on many co-built campaigns and activations together throughout the year, but this was a particularly unique opportunity that JD were able to bring to Nike through our partnership with the NRL,” continued Ashkar.
“The Grand Duffle concept is a first of its kind execution, and when Nike saw how we would bring both brands to life to reward and engage with NRL fans, they were immediately on board. Nike have added material value to the concept and it continues to solidify our global partnership.
“For us, it’s about being part of one of the biggest sporting moments in the year and celebrating the fans who make it special. We want to provide real value to our partnership in the NRL and enhance the experience on grand final day,” Ashkar added.
“It’s also an opportunity to strengthen JD’s presence in sport and remind fans that we are the destination for the best sports lifestyle product to wear on game day and beyond. This activation will be shared globally within our business as a best-in-class extension and activation of a cultural moment within sports partnerships.”
Making the day extra special for fans were the NRL’s other major partners:
Telstra
The ‘Telstra Try Lights’ made an epic return to the 2025 GF. Accor Stadium was glowing with epic lighting to celebrate every game-changing moment. Making sure every nook and cranny of the stadium was lit, Telstra gave every fan who entered a light-up wristband.
Fans were amongst the action all night long—when the action hit, the whole stadium lit up!
Telstra went above and beyond presenting DJ Havana Brown and singer Sara Berki to fans.
But the brands magic didn’t stop there, it also gave two lucky participants the chance to race their favourite player (in the form of LED lights) and win a signed jersey. Two Broncos fans won signed jerseys—perhaps a premonition of the game itself.
Telstra also gave two local junior rugby league teams the opportunity to play on the same hollowed turf as their heroes just before kick-off in the main game.
Westpac
Thanks to Westpac, any fan who managed to catch a ball in the crowd was lucky enough to take that footy home—the ultimate sporting piece to show off on the mantle. This is something that only happens in the US at baseball games, so fans appreciated this incentive so much!
Like Telstra, Westpac gave pundits the chance to step out onto the ground through the delivery of the match balls ahead of the NRL and NRLW grand finals.
The bank was also active outside the stadium putting on a fan favourite—another Catch and Keep activation. Prepping the hands of supporters before the main game, Westpac had the ultimate reflex test, dropping mini Westpac footys from above and the participants who managed to hang onto every single ball was rewarded by keeping one.
Red Bull
On brand, Red Bull had fans on the edge of their seats with stunt men Matt Hall and Kris Sieczkowski. The pair performed a high-energy formation display in the Red Bull MX and Extra 300L.
Reaching 200 knots the performance featured dynamic aerobatic manoeuvres reaching up to 12G. It included signature cross-turns, inverted formation, tumbles and crowd-favourite aerobatic manoeuvres. The display put on by Red Bull was almost as nail-bitingly exciting as the grand final itself.
KFC
Two lucky fans competed on field to win the entire stadium free zinger burgers. The participant who kicked the greatest number of balls into the giant inflatable KFC bucket on field won vouchers for themselves, plus bragging rights.
Chemist Warehouse
Chemist Warehouse let two fans battle it out on-field to see who can fill their giant basket first. The Chemist Warehouse Aisle Dash was not for the faint hearted with up to $10,000 in cash and prizes to be won. B&T can reveal that $8,000 was won by a lucky Broncos fan.
Hostplus
Hostplus presented the Retiring Players Ceremony.
A staple on grand final day, the NRL acknowledged and celebrated 20 retiring players ahead of the main game. Amongst the retirees were 300-game players, premiership winners and International test stars.
Players were driven on the back of a Kia Tasman for one final lap of honour so that fans could send them off in style.
VB
VB took over one of the local pubs, the Locker Room, located just outside the stadium for a pre and post GF party. Live entertainment included Bag Raiders, Mell Hall, all whilst fans had the chance to share a hard earned thirst and a yarn with NRL legends Dale Finucane and James Graham.
Bundaberg
It was a full Bundaberg takeover in the Southern Blowout section.
The classic Bundy Bar was transformed into a precinct of its own, accessible only by fans who have scanned in. The bar consisted of free-flowing Bundy, tables decked out in Fairy lights, a giant blow up Bundy dart board, as well as a memory game and Bundy themed prizes.
Personalities Jack Archdale and Cooper Johns was out and about in the bar asking questionable questions to fans.
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Instax
Finally, how could we forget about the show-stopping NRL pre-game performance. The NRL and Instax certainly turned up the heat with Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum superstar Teddy Swims who headlined the day.
And didn’t he put on a show-stopping performance!
What a day it was for mutual NRL fans and Brisbane Broncos supporters. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the fans who trekked it up from Melbourne, but at least the brands gave them something to cheer for!
