San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams take opposing jet lag strategies into Melbourne NFL game

The San Francisco 49ers arrived a week in advance of their Melbourne NFL game, while the Rams will arrive the day before. A sleep expert says both strategies have merit, but one may have a slight edge. Two enormously well-resourced teams; two diametrically opposed strategies for managing one of the world's most arduous sporting road trips. On Friday, the Los Angeles Rams will 'host' the San Francisco 49ers in the first NFL regular-season match played in Australia, at the local time of 10:35am in Melbourne. That is 5:35pm on Thursday in Los Angeles, roughly equivalent to when a prime-time NFL fixture would kick off on the west coast of America. To prepare, the 49ers flew in a week earlier and have embarked on a series of PR appearances across the city — lauding local baristas and watching Geelong defeat Carlton in an AFL final — while the Rams arrived this morning, just 24 hours before the historic clash. The Rams' strategy is not without precedent; last year they flew to London on the day of their game against the Jaguars and came away with a 35-7 win, returning home without needing to stay in a hotel. The Los Angeles side will be hoping for a repeat of that result, only this time they will contend with a 16-hour flight and 17-hour time difference, and cannot avoid an overnight stay.

Read the original report: abc.net.au →

Region

South Australia, Australia

Published

10 Sep 2026

Languages

English