Brisbane Roar captain and Matildas co-captain Clare Polkinghorne has signed with Japanese Nadeshiko League side INAC Kobe Leonessa.

Polkinghorne, who captained Australia to a silver medal at the 2014 Asian Cup, becomes the third Australian and Roar player to spend the W-League off-season in the highly regarded Japanese league.

As with Tameka Butt and Elise Kellond-Knight, the deal was brokered by Brisbane based football agency Kick International.

"With the Japanese being World Champions in Women’s, U20 and U17, it is an exciting time to experience their football culture," said Polkinghorne in a statement from Kick International.

"I cannot thank Kick International, Naomi and Michael [Cook] enough for giving me the opportunity to experience this."

INAC Kobe is often considered one of the top five club sides in the world and are three time Nadeshiko / First Division League Champions, four time Empress Cup champions and current Mobcast Cup champions.

Although currently sitting fifth in the league, Leonessa has the likes of recent Asian Cup champions Ayumi Kaihori, Homare Sawa, Emi Nakajima and Megumi Takase playing for them.

The 25 year old central defender will line up for the three times defending champions from late June to August before returning for the W-League season  due to commence in mid September.