NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo says rugby league is the most-watched sport in Australia. The viewership results of Sunday’s grand final suggest otherwise – but still, he may be right.

For the past nine years, the final clash of the AFL season has out-rated its NRL counterpart on TV. The Penrith Panthers’ 14-6 victory on Sunday over the Melbourne Storm, which secured their fourth straight premiership, had an average audience of 3.4 million people. The week before, 4.06 million people tuned in for the Brisbane Lions’ drubbing of the Sydney Swans.