NFL Melbourne: San Francisco 49ers address biggest consideration for game abroad
By Christopher Reive in Melbourne
Ahead of the NFL’s first game Downunder, the travel choices made by the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams have been one of the big talking points on the sporting side of things.
When the game gets underway on the Melbourne Cricket Ground turf at 12.30pm (NZT) on Friday, the 49ers will have been in Melbourne for a week, while the Rams will have been in the city for roughly 24 hours.
But for 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, the biggest consideration around opening their season with an away game that took a 16-hour flight to get to was what comes afterwards.
“That was my biggest thing, [it] is what gives you the best advantage for this game and then what helps you not have a less [sic] advantage for going against Miami our second week. You just hope for as many days off between the two as you can have,” Shanahan said.
“We’re going to get back there Friday afternoon. As far as coaches and coaches working, which is not at all like the players, we’ve got to be a little bit more ready for Monday. Monday and Tuesday is where we put most of our work in, where we get the game plan in and then we teach Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. The players really don’t have to totally be there. I mean, they’ll come in on Monday, they’ll work out, they’ll do things, but they don’t really have to be fully ready to go until Wednesday.
“With us getting back Friday afternoon and the players really starting their true football week that Wednesday, I think five days is plenty of time for them to get adjusted. I mean, it’s taken me a while to get adjusted here. I’ve been waking up at one in the morning, wide awake, every day until today. I was extremely tired at four this morning. I think I finally have adjusted, which I think is five days. So, [it’ll] probably take the same when we get back too.”
Shanahan also noted the 49ers had “asked very nicely” if they could have the Monday night (Tuesday NZT) fixture in week two to give the team as long as possible to settle back in, but “it didn’t work”.
The Rams, who are the home team in Friday’s game in Melbourne, having invested in Australia and New Zealand in the NFL’s international home marketing areas initiative, get the Monday night (UST) fixture against the New York Giants, while the 49ers play Miami on Sunday afternoon (UST).
Asked on Wednesday if the players had already begun to plan their approach to recovery between their first and second games of the season, 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk said it was something the group had spoken about over the past couple of days.
“It’s been so back of the mind, we’ve been so focused on what we had to do getting out here, you forget that there’s going to be a whole recovery plan getting back,” Juszczyk said.
“But to be quite honest, like I’m putting that on the back shelf. I will worry about that as soon as the game ends. I know that the Niners have a great set-up prepared for us, so luckily we don’t have to think too much in advance about that.
“Right now, it’s about just taking care of this game, making sure all the preparation that we did was for a good reason and then we’ll worry about getting ready for week two.”
The writer travelled courtesy of Visit Victoria.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.