There is more than just a crucial “W” for the win-loss column at stake when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Los Angeles Rams at the MCG on Friday.

The historic first NFL game on Australian soil will also serve as the ultimate arbiter in a debate that has raged in professional sporting circles for weeks now around the drastically different travel strategies employed by each team.

Facing the longest flight (16 hours) ever attempted by an NFL franchise before a game, the 49ers elected to follow convention wisdom and arrive more than week early to acclimate to the 17-hour time difference between Melbourne and California.

The Rams, on the other hand, rocked the sports world by deciding to fool their bodies into believing jet lag isn’t real, arriving the day before the game and flying out immediately afterwards.

It’s emerged as a potential X-factor that could swing the outcome.

San Francisco future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams disagreed.

“To me it’s tomatoes to tomato,” Williams told reporters in Melbourne.

“The good thing about it is, when you play a game, you’ve got a lot of adrenaline, so I don’t think that will be as big as a factor as people think.”

Either way, it has created a test case that medical professionals involved in professional sport are watching very closely, because it could shape how teams manage the rigours of travel in future.

Renowned American sports doctor Jesse Morse said the Rams’ strategy was all about, “minimising the impact of the travel on their circadian rhythms”.

“The theory (is) the Rams players’ bodies won’t have enough time for the jet lag and time zones to kick in and impact them,” Dr Morse posted on X.

“The 49ers are … going a week early to allow their bodies to get acclimated and to properly hydrated, which seems to take about three days.”

Williams acknowledged it took him “three to four days” to start to feel “really normal”.

Stanford Sleep Institute adjunct professor Dr. Cheri D. Mah, who has worked with NFL teams including the reigning champion Seahawks, told the San Francisco Chronicle the Rams’ travel plans would be “challenging”.

“There’s going to be travel fatigue, dehydration, not great sleep. But there are pros and cons to both strategies,” Dr Mah said.

A big con for the Rams is gifting the Niners unfettered promotional opportunities with Aussie NFL fans, with the league’s own stats revealing San Francisco is already the nation’s favourite team.

NFL teams have extensive medical and fitness staff to manage diet and sleep schedules, and travel in first-class and business-class seats that fully recline.

One player who won’t be on the plane is recently un-retired superstar Aaron Donald, who the team confirmed will sit out the opener as he ramps back up to game fitness.

How the long-haul flight will impact people of NFL player proportions, such as Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson (2m, 153kgs) or star pass rusher Myles Garrett (193cm, 123kgs) remains to be seen.

“I do feel like often in these scenarios, it’s like, whoever wins then that was the right strategy,” Dr Mah said.

The Rams certainly have faith in their strategy, having used it last year on a FIFO trip to London that resulted in a demolition of the well-acclimated Jaguars.

Equally fascinating will be what happens to these teams in Week 2 of the NFL season, with just over a week to recover from their big Down Under experiment.

Luckily the schedule makers have looked kindly on their plight, giving the 49ers a home game against the Dolphins, projected to be the worst team in the NFL.

The Rams get an extra day of rest before Monday Night Football (Tuesday morning here), and a game against Giants, a potentially feisty team but one predicted to win seven of a possible 17 regular season games.

Rams vs 49ers airs on Friday from 8.35am on Seven and 7plus Sport.