San Francisco 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan has softened his stance on his team playing in Melbourne, buoyed by local support ahead of their historic NFL season opener Down Under.
Shanahan caused a stir in March when he said there was "not much benefit" to the Niners travelling around the globe to take on NFC West foes the Los Angeles Rams at the MCG on September 11.
It otherwise would have been a much shorter trip to LA, in front of what is usually a pro-49ers crowd.
But four days out from the league's first regular-season game in Australia, Shanahan was on-script when he backed the concept.
"That was nothing against Australia or anything, that's just about competition and how important our 17 games are," Shanahan said on Monday.
"It's cool for us to always have an advantage of having what I see as one home game a year in LA, just the way our fans take over that stadium, so it was disappointing to let them off the hook and get them out of that.
"Knowing how our fans roll, I have a feeling they won’t be much different here. I expect to have a good showing.
"After being here for a couple days this is the right time to be here, it's the right place to be and it's right team to go against."
San Francisco hope to gain an advantage by spending a full week in Melbourne to prepare for the season opener and already appear to have a leg up on the Rams.
Three days after touching down, Shanahan said his players were mostly over their jet-lag and acclimatising to the new surrounds as they prepared for their first full practice session at Melbourne's AAMI Park.
In stark contrast, the Rams' planned hit-and-run mission means they won't arrive until about 24 hours before Friday's 10.35am (AEST) kick-off.
"I'm not comparing us to them, but yeah ... I'm glad that we've been out here because we feel real good today," Shanahan said.
"(The players) are excited, they're ready to go."
San Francisco's meticulous planning includes late-morning practice sessions, matching the unusual local kick-off time in Melbourne, which has been set for the American television market.
"It's all about just getting your body in a good spot from a jet-lag standpoint, travel fatigue and all that," Niners running back Christian McCaffrey said.
"For me it's just about being really diligent with the recovery, with the training, when you're eating, when you're taking caffeine, when you're napping, when you're not napping.
"The mental part of it will come all week to get the game plan perfect, but it's the physical part that you've really got to be diligent about and I think we've done such a good job of that."
Rams head coach Sean McVay said his team's preparation was influenced by how they approached their game against the Jacksonville Jaguars in London last October.
On that occasion, the Rams arrived on Saturday morning for a Sunday afternoon start and produced a comfortable 35-7 win at Wembley Stadium.
"It doesn't mean that we think we're right and a different approach is wrong," McVay said.
"It's just what we think is best based on the things that we’ve done and what we've learned over our time here."
How the two teams fare in Melbourne, and in the following weeks after their contrasting preparation, could shape how other teams tackle international games in years to come.
There are nine international matches scheduled this season, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has expressed interest in having every team play once in a foreign market each season, for a total of 16.
The league already has a four-year contract with Victoria to host at least two confirmed games in Melbourne, while other Australian states are also lining up for a slice of the action.
