PORT Adelaide's players have been banned from eating outside of their hotel in Shanghai for fear of food poisoning ahead of Sunday's historic game against Gold Coast in China.
"Having been (to China) a few times with the Socceroos, we did have some issues with some of the food," Port's head of high performance, Darren Burgess, said on Tuesday.
"We had a couple players who got some food poisoning and a whole bunch of staff that lost a lot of weight.
"We've made sure all the food is imported from the right areas, and most of it actually comes from Australia.
"We just wanted to make sure this wasn't going to be an issue."
The first group of Power players will depart Adelaide on Tuesday night with stops in Melbourne and Hong Kong before arriving in Shanghai on Wednesday.
The group includes captain Travis Boak, Charlie Dixon, Robbie Gray, Hamish Hartlett, Jarman Impey, Tom Jonas, Jasper Pittard, Patrick Ryder and Jackson Trengove.
The remaining 16 players will leave Adelaide on Wednesday morning, flying direct to Hong Kong before joining their teammates in Shanghai on Wednesday night.
The first group contains taller players and those who have had slight injury concerns this season to give them more time in China.
All of the Power's players will be in premium economy to give them increased leg room.
The club has also worked closely with its airline partner Cathay Pacific on its dietary requirements during the flight.
"I've been over there probably four times to source hotels and to look at the training venues and to source the food," Burgess said.
"The preparation has been a long time coming."
There have been concerns about the air quality in Shanghai, especially with the prospect of a sandstorm set to hit the city later in the week.
"Guys that might have some respiratory issues, they might struggle a little bit more and might need some more asthma medication," Burgess said.
"Unless it's really, really heavy smog, it won't make a massive difference.
"The smog, it is an issue, but it's the same for both teams.
"The sandstorms, let's see if they happen.
"There's a threat, but all in all, it's pretty minor."
Having been involved with the Socceroos and English soccer giants Liverpool during games in China, Burgess believes the commentary around the impact of travel on players has been blown out of proportion.
"It's pretty unusual for the AFL, but it's pretty common for world sport," he said.
"The challenges there are fairly minor in the scheme of things.
"We're pretty comfortable with the preparations we've had."
