Tina Turner in the 1990 Simply the Best ad. Photo: Screenshot.
Up until 1989, the year the Raiders won their first premiership, the NSWRL in Australia was a different beast.
The premiership trophy was sponsored by a cigarette company – teams played for the Winfield Cup.
It was very much a working man’s game with a focus on tough, hard-drinking, hard-working men, with the game very much reflecting their supporter base.
John Quayle, the then CEO of the NSWRL, realised the code would die if something wasn’t done to expand the supporter base.
Quayle identified the need to attract more female supporters.
The result was that one of the greatest female singers of all time, Tina Turner, was approached to film a commercial to her hit “What You Get is What You See”.
Tina Turner at the 1993 grand final. Photo: NRL.
The commercial was filmed at Fulham’s Craven Cottage in London with star players Cliff Lyons and Gavin Miller.
Originally the plan was to feature Andrew Ettingshausen in that first commercial. He was playing with Leeds at the time, but a rescheduled game because of snow meant he couldn’t contribute.
The 1989 commercial was controversial. Some rugby league types were outraged that an American grandmother was to become the face of the NSWRL.
They were wrong. It proved to be the turning point for rugby league.
The code was catapulted into the sporting stratosphere the following year as rugby league further invested in Tina Turner. Many would remember the film clip of Tina running along a Gold Coast beach with players clad in budgie smugglers to “Simply the Best”.
For the next seven years, the song was omnipresent in everything to do with rugby league.
Tina Turner didn’t see a game of rugby league until 1993 when she performed her hit at the grand final and handed the trophy to the Broncos. For an American grandmother to become the face of rugby league with a song that hadn’t been released commercially at the time was nothing short of incredible.
In fact, it is still incredible to this day.
So much so that in the wake of Tina Turner’s passing at the age of 83 years this week, “Simply the Best” will be played before each NRL game this weekend.
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