Slash, Train to kick off NRL Grand Final

Slash will pump up the crowds at the NRL Grand Final on October 5

Former Guns N' Roses guitar god Slash and American pop-rock group Train - both of whom headline Australian music festivals in the next few months - have been picked to pump up the crowd before the NRL Grand Final on October 5.

Both acts also have new albums out in the next month. 

Slash will release World on Fire with his band Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators next month, while Train's seventh album, Bulletproof Picasso, is due out next week.

Train have a strong chart history here, scoring a No. 1 single in 2009 with Hey Soul Sister and a No. 5 with Drops of Jupiter in 2001. The band also has three top 10 albums.

What songs will they play? Slash (who is actually English and a fan of Stoke City football club) accompanying at least one Train song is a good bet (Hey Soul Sister is the obvious choice), while the top-hatted axeman is certain to turn out at least one classic Guns N' Roses number.

While the choice of entertainment won't entirely satisfy fans pining for the return of AC/DC or even Cold Chisel, Slash and Train seem a better fit for a big, expectant footy final crowd than Sir Tom Jones. 

The 74-year-old Welsh crooner will kick off procedings before the AFL Grand Final on September 27.

Slash is a headliner at the Soundwave festival next February and March while Train have already confirmed for Bluesfest next April 3.