Since then both teams have gathered a steady supply of points but with the Phoenix doing the better of late with three wins.
The results continue to fall in the Phoenix's favour, including Thursday night's 2-2 draw between heavyweights Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC, who are now seven and three points respectively behind the Phoenix with Sydney having played an extra game.
Herbert has every right to feel satisfied with the effort put in by his players, especially in winning two on the trot on the road for the first time.
Although his immediate concern is tomorrow's game, he is also mindful that a bigger proportion of his team's remaining regular season games are in Australia.
Keen to seek more views on the difficulties associated with regular travel, Herbert sought guidance from the Crusaders.
"When we were struggling to get a result away from Westpac I was determined to leave no stone unturned as I looked for a solution," said Herbert.
"Who better to seek advice from than the Crusaders?
"They have regularly won away from home and last year, because of the terrible earthquakes, they were playing away from Christchurch all the time - successfully."
Coach Todd Blackadder unfortunately was not able to be at the meeting as he was attending a funeral, but assistant coach Daryl Gibson and captain Richie McCaw hosted Herbert and Phoenix captain Andrew Durante.
"It was really productive for us," Herbert said.
Durante agreed. He said seeing how other teams, and other codes, did things was always going to be helpful.
"Actually when we got down to talking we weren't too far away from what they do," said Durante.
"So far as away games went Richie said a lot of it came down to attitude. The feeling in their group was that there should be no excuses or feeling sorry for themselves. "That was the attitude we adopted after losing at home to Perth.
"We weren't used to dropping points at home and we said there could be no excuses at Gold Coast or Newcastle. We just had to pick up points.
"On away trips Richie said he would talk to the players and relay their thoughts back to Blackadder. I did the same thing when we were in Sydney."
Back to more pressing concerns, Herbert has to make changes tomorrow with goal-grabbing hero Manny Muscat ruled out as he is in Melbourne awaiting the birth of his first child.
With Vince Lia still on the injured list, Herbert has Cameron Lindsay and Jimmy Downey as likely call-up options. Nick Ward is a 50-50 prospect as he struggles with an ankle injury.
Should the Brisbane Roar lose to Newcastle today and the Phoenix get up tomorrow they could be up to second and well-positioned to justify their "dark horse" tag.
Details
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne Heart
Where: Westpac Stadium
When: Tomorrow 4.30pm (live SS3).
