Source :- THE AGE NEWS
Joking that he had yet to see any crocodiles or kangaroos on Melbourne’s city streets, San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan insists he and his team have now embraced the historic NFL clash at the MCG against the Los Angeles Rams on Friday.
Shanahan initially voiced concerns about travelling so far for a season-opening game, declaring in March he didn’t “see any pro” about having to travel to here. But on Monday, speaking publicly for the first time since arriving in Melbourne, he declared the 49ers were all-in on the contest against their fierce divisional rivals.
“I mean, when I said … that was nothing against Australia or anything. That’s just about competition and how important our 17 games are. It’s cool for us [to come to Melbourne],” Shanahan said.
“Just, we always have an advantage of having one home game a year in LA, just the way our fans are, to take over that [SoFi] stadium. So, it’s disappointing to let them [Rams] off the hook and get them out of that. But I have a feeling, knowing how our fans roll, I have a feeling it won’t be much different here.
“[I] expect to have a good showing and, I wouldn’t say it hit me right on the plane, but after being here for a couple days, like, it’s the right time to be here, it’s the right place to be, and it’s the right team to go against.”
The Rams chartered a Qantas A380 – the world’s largest passenger jet – for their 13,000-kilometre flight here, the longest by a team in NFL history, coming complete with detailed advice on sleep patterns, and even what supplements to take.
Shanahan said he hadn’t ventured too far from the team hotel yet, but joked he was surprised he had yet to come across two animals this country is known for.
“Yeah, that I don’t see kangaroos and crocodiles everywhere. I was expecting to see that, and looks like a very normal, cool city,” Shanahan said, sparking a few laughs.
Star running back Christian McCaffrey has also embraced the trip, and could be in line for a coffee sponsorship, so effusive was he about the local brews.
“Obviously, there’s a lot of question marks when you hear you’re playing in Australia, but since we’ve been here, man, it’s been it’s been so cool,” McCaffrey said.
“The people are unbelievable. The food’s incredible. The coffee’s great. The atmosphere you can already feel it, and you know, it’s just it’s been a lot of fun. So we’re super fired up we’re here.”
McCaffrey has yet to visit the MCG, unlike several of his teammates who took in the AFL qualifying final between geelong and Carlton on Friday night, but said the cavernous stadium – preparing to have a painted rectangular field – would pose challenges.
“I’ll probably know better after the game. But, I think one thing, it’s always weird when you go into a new stadium that’s not a football stadium, is you [don’t] know where the game clocks are, hearing calls, hearing audibles, regardless of noise. That’s all stuff that you’ll adjust to during the game,” he said.
McCaffrey joined teammates on Monday for their first training session at AAMI Park. Amid tight security, and with the 49ers’ travelling media pack in town, the team began to implement detailed plans for an opponent also expected to seriously challenge for the Super Bowl.
The 49ers have arrived a week early for the game to shed jet lag and adjust to local conditions.
The Rams, however, will not arrive until Thursday and will have their only training session at Marvel Stadium. It’s a system they honed when travelling to London last season, arriving the day before their game, and thumping the Jacksonville Jaguars 35-7.
Shanahan said he was confident the 49ers made the right call, but adjusting to the 17-hour time difference with the west coast of the US was still a work in progress.
“When I look at my clock, and it says the time, and then I try to see my family’s time, and it says the time, but it says yesterday, I don’t get how that’s possible,” Shanahan said.
“So, I feel like I’m in the future, and then, also, when we play on our Friday, which I think is a Thursday in the US, we’re such creatures of habit. So I call today Tuesday. No wait, sorry. I call today Wednesday, which is the first day we put in a game plan. But I think it’s Monday.
“However, though it’s Sunday in the present, so like I’m gonna mess that up all week if you guys ask me.”
The NFL will continue talks with its partners in Melbourne this week about a possible return game next year.
The league has a four-year contract with Visit Victoria which guarantees two games, and up to three, in what is a “two-plus-one” deal from 2026-2029. Each game is estimated to cost the state between $10 million and $15 million.
The NFL has been encouraged by the sell-out attendance and what already shapes as a week-long NFL party in Melbourne.
However, there is clash of dates the NFL and AFL are working through, for next year’s game falls on the same weekend as the AFL’s elimination and qualifying finals, when the MCG could be needed over multiple days.
If the game does go ahead next year, there is also no guarantee it will be Rams and 49ers who play in it. The Rams have international marketing rights in Australia, but so do recent Super Bowl winners Seattle Seahawks and the Philadelphia Eagles, who also boast Australian players Jordan Mailata (Eagles) and Michael Dickson (Seahawks). The Las Vegas Raiders, part owned by NFL legend Tom Brady, also have Australian global rights.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
