She now reflects upon the growth of the league along with the depth of talent and reverence it now possesses.

Matildas star, Simon began her W-League career with the Central Coast Mariners as a 16-year-old and says she can’t believe how quickly time has passed since she first set her foot on the pitch of the very first game in 2008.

“It’s crazy to think we’ve already gone through 10 seasons,” she said.

“I remember going all the way back to season one when Tom Sermanni was the head coach of the Matildas.

“Back then it was a case of splitting up the Matildas to try and make the W-League as evenly competitive as possible,” the 27-year-old continued.

When the W-League first began, it was the first professional football league for women in Australia since the 2004 Women’s National Soccer League and was implemented after the Aussie women qualified for the quarterfinals of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

That historic moment proved to the nation that a professional league was imperative to developing female players and giving Australia it’s best shot at building a women’s league they could be proud of.

“Fast-forward to the 11th season and the entire league is now bursting at the seams with talent and competitiveness,” Simon said.

“It’s only a 14-week season but giving young kids the opportunity to now come out and support their favourite team or player is really special. It’s really given the Australian public a platform to see what Australian women’s football is all about.

“You see men’s football everywhere and the ease of accessibility gives the public so much access to support it, but there had never been that platform for Australian women’s football until the W-League and the Matildas,” she continued.