WHY go overseas to study the methods of great teams when you can pop up to Brisbane to get intimate with a club setting new standards in Australian sport?

That was Hawthorn AFL club's argument in deciding to send coaching staff members Adam Simpson, Leon Cameron and David Flood north to spend a few days with the all-conquering Brisbane Roar.

Going into today's clash against Wellington Phoenix at Suncorp Stadium, the A-League champions are unbeaten in their past 33 matches, two short of the record streak in national sport set by rugby league club Eastern Suburbs in 1936-37.

WANT MORE SPORT? GET YOUR SUNDAY MAIL PRINT EDITION

"What they (the Roar) have achieved over the past year and a half . . . you can go overseas to look at other clubs or look what's in your backyard," Simpson said after yesterday's training session at Ballymore.

"And it's not just their success, but how they go about it. I

"t's something that we can learn from. Things like how professional they are as a unit, the culture that's really strong and really tight - it's not rocket science, it's really straight forward. But sometimes you need to see it at another club just to see how important it is."

Brisbane football manager Paul Trimboli said it was a tribute to his club that teams for other codes wanted to learn from the Roar.

"It's definitely a feather in our cap and it's a sign of how well we've done," Trimboli said.

"Hawthorn have also extended an invitation for us to visit them and it's something we'd look at when the time is right."

Simpson was impressed with the Roar's self-belief and A-League coach of the year Ange Postecoglou's trust in his players and staff.

"They've got a style of play that they've got the utmost confidence in and they'll back it in against anyone else's," Simpson said.