Rigters, who has joined Wellington on trial, fought off the jet-lag from a 40-hour trip from Britain to score the Phoenix's only goal in a 5-1 A-League pre-season loss to Brisbane Roar in Dunedin on Saturday evening.

Herbert admitted he had been reluctant to throw the 27-year-old into the fray at Forsyth Barr Stadium given the striker had only linked up with the team late on Friday night.

"But he was super keen to play some part," said the coach. "He was good. I was very pleased. He's strong, aggressive and the finish was very good.

"There were some very good signs of the potential of the player and what he could do. The finish was testament to that. He caused problems and got in behind people. He showed pace and if you rule a line across a team in the league that you can make that judgement on it's definitely Brisbane.

"We'll look after him the next two or three days and get him integrated a little bit more with the team. He will start against Melbourne Heart and we'll see how we go."

A decision on whether to sign the former Blackburn Rovers striker will be made after that game

"I think he's come here because he wants to be here. He's settled in really well. The players have embraced that. He's embraced the time he has been here," Herbert said.

"If it works out come Friday night/Saturday morning then I think he'd be delighted to be with us."

Herbert expects to make a decision on fellow triallist Dani Sanchez, who got 45 minutes against the Roar, by Tuesday.

"It's just getting the balance of the squad right and he certainly didn't do his chances any harm," Herbert said of the Spaniard.

"I think he's different than what we've got in midfield. It's a bit wait and see. I don't think we're too far away from making a call either way."

But the news was less positive for Billy Mehmet who was replaced by Rigters at half-time.

"He was struggling with a back problem and that's certainly hindering him at the moment. That's making it difficult to be fair," the Phoenix coach admitted.

"Now it's a foot-race between him and Maceo as well. We'll just see over the next few days."

As for Saturday's result, Herbert was philosophical, particularly as he made seven changes in the second spell of what was the team's first A-League pre-season hit-out.

The Phoenix were trailing 1-0 at the break after a tight first half. The deadlock was only broken by James Meyer's goal on the stroke of half-time.

But the Roar were too strong in the second half. Mitch Nichols, Thomas Broich (two) and Meyer all scored as Rigters, Sanchez, Daniel, Tony Lochhead, triallist Cory Chettleburgh, Lucas Pantelis and Matt Thurtell were brought on at varying times.

"We made seven changes and that was incredibly disruptive and I'm happy to say that," Herbert said.

"Nobody wants to cop five at any stage. We have to take that on the chin and some of the goals were extremely disappointing to concede."

"But you've got to put them (players) on. You've got to give them a chance."

"I think the first half was more than competitive. We competed well enough for me to feel we'd made the progress we needed to make."

"It's the first really test too. You can cut your teeth around local games but this is the real deal. It sets the bar where it needs to be. It was a good reality check for everybody."