When State of Origin is doing its bit to warm up the rugby league winter, the promoters froth about it being the game’s biggest contest.

With respect, crap. The Grand Final is it. Was, is, will be. The choice doesn’t have to be one or the other, but if there’s a preference, I’m for The One.

How can this be claimed when more fans have a direct emotional investment in the Blues and/or the Maroons, and it gets higher TV ratings? How, when most spectators aren’t going to live or die on the result, can the grand final have any claim on being league’s One Big One?

Well, maybe that’s part of its secret: the great majority don’t really mind. They might love or hate Penrith and Melbourne equally. They become Penrith/Melbourne fanatics for 80 minutes only. They might switch preferences just before the kick-off or even during the game. The motivating passion for a grand final is, compared with a regular-season round, pretty superficial.

You’d like to see the Panthers brought down a notch. You’d like to see the Storm brought down a bigger notch. You love Nathan Cleary. Or no, Ryan Papenhuyzen. You hate Cameron Munster. Or no, Jarome Luai.

Compared with watching your own team, these are paltry emotions, but that’s why the Grand Final is spelt with capital letters. For most, it’s low-stress viewing. It’s fun. Look at your knuckles: they haven’t turned white.

Nathan Cleary and Harry Grant pose with the Provan-Summons Trophy.Credit: Getty Images

It’s also a lot more memorable. In Origin, every year claims to have been the........

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