ARMED with his trusty ham-and-beetroot sandwiches, co-captain Luke Power says the Brisbane Lions are well-equipped to take on the longest road trip in AFL football.

Power’s well-known penchant for taking a home-made lunch on flights might initially seem like a quaint and mildly amusing superstition.

But it actually forms an important part of his road-trip routine. And it’s routine that Power believes can help the Lions overcome the rigours of a five-hour-plus flight to Perth ahead of Saturday night’s showdown with West Coast.

“It’s by far the longest plane trip you take in the AFL but we’ve just got to make sure we do everything right,” Power said.

“We go a couple of days before the match which helps and with the length of the flight, you’ve got to be pretty spot-on with your stretching and those kinds of things.

“Then, on the way back, you’ve got to get your recovery techniques right.

“But, to be honest, I reckon 50 to 60 per cent of it is pretty much mental and we’re pretty used to flying to Perth now.”

Power points to last year’s upset away win over the Eagles and a 2005 victory at Subiaco against Fremantle as evidence of the Lions’ ability to win big games on the other side of the country.

“I think the first game of the year is a pretty good time to be going over to Perth – because you are fresh and haven’t played the week before,” Power said.

“Subiaco is the kind of ground where you have to be prepared to run and take risks, but I think we can go in with a bit of confidence from having won over there last year.

“I reckon last year might be the first time I’ve played in a win against the Eagles at Subiaco but we’ve beaten Freo there before and I can remember losing to West Coast by a kick a few years ago. So we actually go okay there.”

The 28-year-old hopes the Lions’ win over the Sydney Swans in the final match of the pre-season can also provide a shot in the arm.

“I think we are pretty well placed as far as our pre-season goes – we aren’t overplayed and we’re fit because most guys have had a really big summer on the track,” Power said.

“All the rain in Brisbane has stopped us doing some of the things we wanted but last week against Sydney there were some positive signs and I think our pressure was close to where it needs to be.

“Hopefully that can carry over to this week.

“If you remember our game against the Eagles from last year, the week before we actually played really poorly for the first three quarters against Port Adelaide, then played really well in the last quarter.