The Brisbane Lions players are certainly no strangers to travelling, but the 28-hour journey to their high altitude training base in Flagstaff (Arizona) was a brand new experience for some.

The Lions’ travel itinerary started with a flight from Brisbane to Los Angeles, where they enjoyed a brief stopover, before continuing on to Las Vegas.

Once they’d arrived in ‘Sin City’, it was straight onto a bus for a three-hour trip to their accommodation at North Arizona University (NAU).

Patrick Wearden told LIONS TV that the journey was long, but worth it.

“We left Brisbane at about 11am. It was a pretty long flight – longer than I expected – and we flew through the night,” Wearden said.

“I sat next to Richy and Rocky (on the plane). Rocky actually slept along the floor and Richy was asleep in my seat, so I spent most of the flight chewing the fat with the boys and sitting up the back with Rog (Daniel Merrett) and Goose (Matt Maguire).

“They actually did an episode of ‘A Brew with Goose’ (on the flight) which was quite good.

Interviewed while ‘cruising’ on the bus from Las Vegas to Arizona, Wearden said he liked what he first saw of the Western Coast of the USA.  

“It’s pretty much desert, but nice scenery though,” he said.

“Everything’s big – big cars, big people and big houses. I’m really enjoying it, it’s pretty impressive.”