Travel might broaden the mind, but if third-placed Brisbane Roar and fifth-placed Perth Glory manage to upset the applecart and see off second-placed Melbourne Victory and runaway premiers Sydney FC in this weekend's semi-finals they might just set a distance record for teams meeting in the season's showpiece.
No team has ever won the title from outside the top two on the ladder at season's end and few even make it to the grand final.
Perth did so in 2012 when they lost 2-1 to Brisbane Roar in controversial circumstances to a late Besart Berisha penalty .
Glory would like nothing better than to take on their 2012 nemesis to gain revenge, but bookmakers see this as a Sydney v Victory showdown on May 7.
Brisbane's task is Herculean given that John Aloisi's team is currently in Thailand to face Muangthong in an Asian Champions League group match which they have to win to stay in with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage.
That trip came after an exhausting 120-minute epic against the Western Sydney Wanderers in an elimination final in Brisbane last Friday, winning on penalties.
Roar are due to play at 10.30pm on Wednesday, then fly to Melbourne to face Victory in a 5pm semi-final on Sunday. Given the travel, Brisbane will certainly deserve their win if they can defy the odds against Victory.
Perth's schedule is not quite so horrendous, but it is daunting enough.
Kenny Lowe's team burst the Melbourne City bubble in emphatic fashion at AAMI Park last Sunday night, running out 2-0 winners.
Rather than return to WA before heading back to Sydney, the Glory boys are staying in a Melbourne hotel before heading to NSW to take on Sydney in their semi-final.
There are few clubs that know more about the tyranny of distance than the West Australians, but this back-to-back challenge of do-or-die away matches is not a regular occurrence.
Melbourne Victory defender James Donachie knows all about the rigours of long-distance travel, having had to juggle ACL campaigns alongside A-League finals in the past, as does Victory forward James Troisi, who has played a lot of club and international games in the region.
"It's definitely not going to be easy for them [Brisbane]. The game the other day was quite tough for them but we can't focus on that and say it's going to be easy because they went into extra time and they have to travel. If we think like that we will get punished on Sunday night," says Troisi.
Donachie agrees. "I have played ACL before, I know what it's like, there are a lot of long flights."
Centre-back Donachie has been in and out of the team since joining this season but looks to be a starter against his former side, and if he can add to his championship haul with Victory he believes it will mean a bit more than his first title at Brisbane because of his greater involvement in the first team.
"I have had more to do with Melbourne. I came on as a right-back for the last final we won in Brisbane which was a pretty big moment. If I can do it as a player that has played a lot of games this season I think I will hold it above that feeling - if we get there."
Donachie will probably have to take care of Golden Boot winner Jamie Maclaren, but it's not a responsibility he is shirking.
"It will be a good challenge, and I look forward to it. We have played them before and I kept him quiet, hopefully we can do it again."
