It's fair to say that in their brief existence new side Melbourne City have shaken up the status quo of the W-League.

In less than 6 months City have secured the signatures of some of Australia's best talent - including Lisa De Vanna, Laura Alleway and Steph Catley - and are importing several world class internationals in Kim Little and Jessica Fishlock.

In their opening round, City were clinical in their 6-0 win over the W-League's most successful club Sydney FC, leaving the impression they are going to take some beating this season.

They are a team that looked ready and prepared for the season and have certainly got everyone in the W-League talking.

Raising the bar

There is no hiding the fact that City have recruited well and at the heart of that recruitment has been the financial investment of the parent A-League club.

From facilities, to training, to player remuneration, City have moved the bar and, while it is early days, they already seem to be profiting from it on the pitch.

While the W-League has a salary cap set figuratively at $150,000, the reality is that very few clubs come close to that cap.

Canberra United have long been the leader on player wages.  They have been the club who, through leveraging their commercial deals, have used the largest percentage of that cap allocation, with their top player earning player coming close to the $10,000 per season.

United also spend more than any other club on club operations at close to $300,000 with their work on sponsorship, merchandise and attendances allowing them to break even.

City have matched that and then some more.

Even taking into account just the lower end of the rumoured player payments, Melbourne City players have paid anywhere from 25% - 60% more than players from other clubs.

While it is not the only reason they have been able to attract considerable talent, it is certainly a major factor.

As with every seismic change there are pros and cons.

Player payments are very topical at the moment, particularly in light of the recent PFA (on behalf of the Matildas) CBA struggle with the FFA.

With the financial outlay City are providing, the newcomers may become the W-League's first professional team with a large majority of their players having the ability to train full time.

In fact, in pre-season City were training twice a day on some days and on the weekend in showed in their fluid play.

For many reasons including player development and player welfare, it is an important step and the ultimately the ideal for the W-League.

Professional wages for the players at this stage subsided by the financial weight of Melbourne City's owners, City Football Group with CFG's holdings also including Manchester City (men and women) and New York City.

The structure of City is actually the FFA's preferred ownership and administration model of the W-League; that is an A-League and W-League teams under one umbrella as stated in the Whole of Football Plan.

"The W-League will follow the structure of the A-League. This means, at a minimum, that every Top Tier club in Australia should have an A-League team and a W-League team." 

Brisbane Roar have the same structure, as do Sydney FC, the Western Sydney Wanderers and just recently Perth Glory.

The question has always been how much the clubs were prepared to invest in their W-League teams.

Brisbane and Sydney have done so to a certain extent in the past, the Wanderers did invest heavily in their first season and Perth, although in the infancy of their re-connection with the women's team, were loath to do so in the early seasons.

None have done so to the extent City have with several of their marquee players (as supplied by several reputable sources) earning between $10 - $20,000 for the four month season.

City's next test is how they provide for and leverage the player talent within their midst; from player facilities, to marketing and merchandising.

The "one club" model is seen overseas in Europe with Paris Saint German and Olympique Lyon in France, Bayen Munich and VfL Wolfsburg in German and also in the United States where the Portland Thorns (run by MLS side Portland Timbers) average over 10,000 fans per match.

If City can achieve even a quarter of this it can be hailed a success but women's football in Australia has displayed the on-field success needs considerable work (and time) to be converted to financial success.

Rising to the challenge

Melbourne City's unexpected entrance in the W-League landscape has not been without legitimate questions.

Arguably the key one is should there be more clubs or more matches?

This question goes to the heart of the first of FFA's WOF objectives in relation to making the W-League a world class league and to provide player development.

"The W-League will be between 20 and 30 rounds long. This extended season will allow W-League clubs to consolidate their status and create the potential of additional tournaments, such as a Women’s FFA Cup. The W-League will generate more interest and help inspire potential Matildas."

When the W-League fixtures are eventually released it is anticipated to be a 14 round season (with two byes for each team).

It is still a distance away from the full home and away season that clubs, administrators and supporters alike have been calling for.

Taking into consideration that the FFA have in the past cited finances - as the FFA covers the travel costs for each of the teams - for the lack of the H&A season, it is easy to see why the introduction of another team caused disquiet.

As noted by Lisa De Vanna noted to new W-League broadcaster Fox Sports "…we want more games and just put a bit more behind the W-League…That’s the most important thing.”

No matter where you fall on that more clubs v more matches question, City look here to stay which means, will the other clubs rise to the challenge?

Or even can the other clubs rise to the challenge or are City distorting a market that has little room (or inclination) to adjust?

At the moment it seems like few can or choose to. Sydney FC have certainly built a squad that many considered a pre-season challenger and defending champions Canberra have a tradition of strong recruiting of local and international players.

Perth Glory have kept some the key components of their premiership side and added Matildas defender Kim Carroll to the mix - at cost - but for the rest it remains to be seen.

City have certainly raised the stakes in relation to W-League team investment and it could be at the cost of W-League parity.

Where in past seasons the W-League has essentially only had two tiers - with some teams moving in and out of those tiers - this season there is likely to be a three tiered system.

"Equity in the W-League might be preferable but not if it is at the cost of player development and masking the underdevelopment of players," said one women's football development coach.

"Melbourne City might just shine a light on how much player development is occurring at the level below the W-League and national teams."

Whether owned by state federations, who have run the team on a limited / restricted budget or A-League teams, who have spent the minimum in the team's administration, for the first time off field financial power may visibly translate on field.