We have had fears expressed over the physical strain of such a fearful long-haul flight – particularly for the Suns, who are travelling in cattle class – and the deleterious effect it will surely have on the finely toned athletes of both clubs. We have had worries put forward over the quality and kind of food that the players may have to eat, the environment they will encounter and the reception they may get. Come off it, please. Either the players are such delicate flowers that their suitability to play such a robust sport as footy must be called into question, or it is yet another example of the AFL world's tendency to navel gaze, hyper ventilate and over-emphasise even the tiniest event. Where footy is concerned, every drama, it seems, becomes a crisis.

Has it not escaped anyone in the footy bubble's attention that travel to China is not new? The lads from the Coast and the Port are not following in the footsteps of Burke and Wills. They're not even pathfinders where sports men are concerned. Teams from the A-League have, for the past dozen years, routinely travelled to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam, Thailand and the Middle East to play competitive matches in a much bigger tournament, the Asian Champions League. There has been little breathless commentary on the difficulties and challenges their players face, the travails they must endure, to play for their team.

I distinctly remember covering the 2010 A-League grand final when Melbourne Victory – in a precursor to last Sunday's title decider – played out a 1-1 draw with Sydney before losing in a penalty shootout. That game was played on a Sunday. After Victory's loss there was no time for commiserations over a season that had come up agonisingly short, no moments of reflection or wistfulness over what might have been. Coach Ernie Merrick and his players had to go straight from the stadium, swallow their disappointment and head straight to Tullamarine, where they boarded a flight for Japan that night. Three days later – on the following Wednesday – they had to face Kawasaki Frontale in an Asian Champions League group game. There was little wailing or gnashing of teeth over Victory's schedule, no outrage or complaint.

They simply got on with the job. Did the horrendous schedule affect them? Of course it did. They lost that game 4-0 with three goals coming in the first 22 minutes. A week later they played Kawasaki in the return leg, and beat the Japanese powerhouse 1-0, but by then it was too little too late for their ACL campaign. Were Western Sydney Wanderers cut much slack when they had a horror travel schedule during their heroic run to the final, and ultimately success, in the Asian Champions League of 2014? They beat Saudi team Al Hilal 1-0 in Parramatta on October 25, then had to fly to Riyadh to play the Saudi side on November 1.