Australians love sport - but can the NFL win them over in debut Melbourne match?

Image source, Supplied: San Francisco 49ers Image caption, George Kittle of the San Francisco 49ers and other players were greeted by fans in Melbourne this week

An oval ball, in September, in Melbourne usually means just one thing - the business end of the Australian rules football (AFL) season.

But on Friday, at the unsportingly early time of 7am, 100,000 people will begin filing into the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for a very un-Australian sporting spectacle - American football.

The LA Rams take on the San Francisco 49ers in their opening National Football League (NFL) fixture, the first time the country has hosted a meaningful, non-exhibition regular season game.

The match sold out months ago, with more than half the crowd expected to be people living outside the state of Victoria. On the official ticket resale site, a restricted view seat is priced at more than A$650 (£350/US$470).