9. NEWCASTLE JETS

By far the quietest club during this off-season's transfer dealings has been Newcastle Jets, who admittedly made a big splash early, but for all the wrong reasons.

It was a hammer blow to Newcastle to lose their iconic captain Emily van Egmond, but what was interesting - and perhaps worrying for Novocastrians - was the team's early admission that they weren't looking to replace her.

Nor, Katie Stengel or any of the other Newcastle faces that have led to the club punching above their weight consistently during the W-League era.

Instead, the Jets are focusing on producing youth. Entirely focusing. There are lots of promising up-and-comers, but the only really familiar names in the team are Gema Simon and Larissa Crummer.

That puts a huge amount of pressure on experienced gaffer Craig Deans to try to make something of the next season.

Now we've written quite a bit about Newcastle's famed academy - the only traditional youth academy in the W-League - are why the Jets' focus on youth is excusable. In fact, in many ways, it should be celebrated.

The rapid rise of Clare Wheeler is just one example of how the Jets could end up becoming a fantastic story over the next two or three seasons.

But that doesn't mean they're going to be very fun to watch this campaign. Even Deans admits "it's going to hard." Let's hope they produce another Van Egmond sooner rather than later.

8. PERTH GLORY

We sat on this article for as long as we could hoping that Perth were going to announce some higher profile imports and we hope for their sake that the rather youthful NWSL campaigners they've brought in over the past few days surprise us all.

But the fact remains that if you're only announcing the brunt of your imports four days out from the beginning of the season, how long are they really going to have to gel with the team?

You could sign amazing talent - which, whether Perth have managed, is somewhat debateable - but bringing them in at the very last minute isn't exactly top-notch transfer dealing.

Now, this is obviously punctuated by the fact that Perth were sweating on Sam Kerr for a long time. A very tough situation that no matter how inevitable it seemed to us, was obviously a priority for Perth.

But unfortunately, it doesn't make it any easier for Perth's fans this season, who will be hoping that last season's Grand Finalists don't fall apart. They certainly shouldn't: Perth had huge experience and talent in their squad and have consistently throughout the W-League.

But it hasn't been an inspiring offseason for Perth by any measure. Rather than expanding on their success last season with or without Kerr, they've largely disappeared from the conversation.

Part of the problem is their lack of ability to make up for Kerr's goals throughout the park. Bringing in a 10 goal a season striker isn't easy, but it was clearly what was needed most.

Crystal Thomas is their new imported striker, but she only managed three goals for Washington Spirit last season.

"Crystal is a forward who will really suit whichever system we play," said Bobby Despotovski.

"She can operate as a target and hold the ball up, or play off the shoulder and get in behind and is the kind of player who can help educate the younger players that we have in our squad this season."

The backline will be much tougher to beat and we're expecting big things from Arianna Romero and Kim Carroll, but we can't help but feel a little underwhelmed from the W-League giants.

Here's hoping we're rushing to judge, because otherwise we're looking at an underwhelming campaign from one of the league's most exciting clubs.

7. ADELAIDE UNITED

Adelaide have had a mixed off-season in the transfer department.

A strong string of internationals has bolstered an otherwise very young side over the past few days, so there's certainly room for optimism, but it's not exactly a team likely to be in finals contention.

It's unfortunate for the Reds, given how prolific they were at the beginning of last season and the strong organisation and discipline Ivan Karlovic has brought into the squad.

We can expect them to once again to be hardy campaigners and defensively oriented, but the loss of Emma Checker was a body-blow to the side that hasn't really been accounted for.

Then you add the losses of Veronica Latsko and Michelle Heyman, and you begin to understand why they've slipped down this list.

Their two most recent imports, an American defender Laura Ashley, and a Brazilian midfielder Lais Araujo, both playing in Scandinavia, have question marks hanging over them. They could be surprises, but we just don't know.

On the other hand, the signing of Mary Fowler has been a massive talking point around the club this season and one that's sure to bring fans through the gates.

If Fowler can stick her allegiance to the club alongside her sister, Ciara, then there is also a lot of long-term promise in the squad that Karlovic is building. But we guess that's the problem, can Adelaide keep their best players?

6. MELBOURNE VICTORY

Here's where they start getting interesting. Victory have had quite a solid off-season by all accounts. The first big plus in Jeff Hopkins' side is their ability to keep key stars from last season's Premiership, notably Natasha Dowie and Teigen Allen.

They also managed a big coup in Jenna McCormick, who has proven to be one of the biggest talking points in Australian female football over the past few weeks.

Her quality is well understood now after two Matildas caps and that extra-spice created by the code-switching is always a nice buzz to have around a club.

There's every chance that Victory will reclaim their premiership again this season, so how can we possibly have them so far down this list?

Well, while the clubs around Victory have sought to inspire in the off-season, Victory have remained steady and solid throughout. There was no other really big-name signings, no more flashy imports, no incredible changes.

Just solidity. Which is fine if you're already a top-notch club, but if everyone around you - including your derby rivals - are pressing all the right buttons to excite their fans, it can leave you the wrong side of a list like this.

The biggest new import is Emily Menges, the NWSL veteran of over 120 appearances, an NWSL Shield and Championship bringing big-game experience to the club that just missed out on a Grand Final last year.

If anyone's going to make us eat our words, it will be her.

“I’ve been excited to join this team for months,” said Menges.

“I’ve heard great things about the club, and I hope to contribute to the already very successful reputation of Melbourne Victory.

“Thanks to everyone at Victory for welcoming me to the club and the city of Melbourne – I can’t wait for the season to start!”

5. CANBERRA UNITED

Kicking the Big V out of the top five is last season's dismal underperformers Canberra United, who lost Ellie Carpenter but boy have they pulled out all the stops to try and excite Canberrans.

Investing in massive striker after striker is a big risk. It's an incredibly top-heavy side that will rely hugely on the reasonably inexperienced likes of Karly Roestbakken and NWSL import Kaleigh Kurtz at the back.

“Kurtz’s leadership qualities are fantastic, she is a great communicator, plays with both feet and is solid down back,” said Canberra boss Heather Garriock.

“She is coming straight from winning back-to-back championships so it's great to have someone with a winning mentality come into our squad that knows what it takes to win.”

But it's a gutsy, big-risk move that should be celebrated, even if we doubt it's necessarily going to reap dividends. As the only W-League standalone club, the investment that has been put into Heather Garriock's side to get the team back up the ladder is extremely notable.

It puts a lot of pressure on the distinguished coach, but it's fantastic to see nonetheless.

So who are these formidable attackers we're speaking about?

Katie Stengel: Goal-scoring extraordinaire, a perennial golden-boot contender with bags of W-League experience, in her (very strong) physical peak.

Elise Thorsnes: A former World Cup legend for Norway, now in her mid-thirties but with an exceptional pedigree and goal-scoring record. A natural leader.

Leena Khamis: Everyone knows Leena, a fierce competitor, proven Matildas goalscorer, another leadership contender and very experienced head within the side.

Simone Charley: An NWSL import and USA U/23 international from powerhouses Portland Thorns. Inexperienced, but lightning quick and adds that crucial second dimension.

4. MELBOURNE CITY

There's just too many familiar names in this City squad to leave them out of the top four. We could literally raft them off with no explanation and the vast majority of our readers will understand exactly what we mean.

They always had an advantage from a layman's perspective in their ability to re-sign top drawer Matildas like Kyah Simon, Lydia Williams and Steph Catley, all of whom spearhead such a talented roster.

But the signings of Emily van Egmond and Emma Checker set the tone for City very early in the season as Rado Vidosic set about poaching elite Australian talent from the league's weaker clubs.

They then expanded on this trajectory with Ellie Carpenter, who may even usurp Kerr to become the most exciting Australian in the competition this season.

And yes, we are aware that is a massive statement for a 19-year-old fullback.

“I’m looking forward to a new challenge and the opportunity to further develop my game at Melbourne City," added Carpenter. 

“It’s important to be surrounded by a number of internationals, including several of my Matildas teammates, so I can continue to move forwards as a footballer and be challenged week in and week out.

“I’m extremely excited to see what the season will bring and can’t wait to get started."

Then you have the less glamorous but equally important imports: Yukari Kinga, Claire Emslie and Milica Mijatovic could all prove instrumental this season.

The championship winning experience is still there in many of the less-notable names as well, which rounds out an exceptional squad. Like Canberra, the pressure is all on the coach this season.

Just the way we like it.

3. WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS

Speaking about pressure, the club that have the most keen-eyed sceptics on them in the W-League this season is undoubtedly Western Sydney Wanderers.

Wanderland has a makeover, the club are espousing a new direction, they are perennial W-League underachievers, reigning poor performers, with a new high-profile coach and assistant coach on board.

It's enough to make your head spin if you're part of the Wanderers set-up this season, but that's why they had to splash big in the off-season and they've clearly had the biggest turnaround of any club heading into this campaign.

We'll get the big three out of the way immediately so we can move on to the stuff you might not already know:

Lynn Williams - USA superstar. One of the top three biggest talents we've ever had in the competition.

Kristen Hamilton - Equally deadly NWSL goal-scorer, likely to be a USA international striker for years to come, late bloomer but in her career peak at the moment.

Denise O'Sullivan - Irish superstar, one of the finest defenders in the world. Once again, a reigning NWSL champion, marshalling the best defence in the league.

Okay, so now we've covered why they've got the biggest imports, here are the rest of the details.

Amy Harrison is a huge coup for the club. She has an awful injury history but a brilliant W-League pedigreee. If she's kept fit and carefully managed, she's a shoe-in for a starting Matildas midfield berth.

Meanwhile, Kyra Cooney Cross, Susan Phonsongkham, Courtney Nevin are three of the best young talents we have in Australian football.

The Wanderers have star names here and abroad, proven goal-threats, a talent-packed midfield with excellent versatility.

However they do have weaknesses when you start to look at the ancillary starting positions, which is one of the reasons why they're still out of the top two.

2. SYDNEY FC

The reigning champions were always going to be near the podium places due to Ante Juric's commendable ability to ensure his squad were re-signed by day-dot with barely a loss of note.

Certainly, Sydney have managed to strengthen upon last season's squad and lock down all their players for a long pre-season, two qualities very few other clubs possess.

All your favourites are still on the Harbour. Alanna Kennedy, Elizabeth Ralston, Aubrey Bledsoe and prodigy Shadeene Evans highlight the best defence in the league. Elle Brush a huge additional coup in that area.

As soon as you move into the midfield it becomes chaotically impressive. Sofia Huerta, Chloe Logarzo, Princess Ibini and Teresa Polias the clear standouts.

The best part is we already know that every one of these players can perform at W-League level because we've seen them do it, mostly together in this unit and for a very long time.

But the key for Sydney is the arrival of Veronica Latsko. A clear, defined goalscorer is what the Sky Blues lacked this season, but adding a formidable poacher who has W-League experience can make Sky Blues fans very excited this season.

Of course, in that front third you've also get Remy Siemsen and arguably the competition's biggest star, Caitin Foord. We'll leave you with that for a minute.

1. BRISBANE ROAR

So now that we've done our absolute best to convince you Sydney should be number one, here's why we've chosen Brisbane Roar instead.

It's a bit of a strange one considering how little Brisbane have changed, but we're more focused on taking big risks with inexperienced coaches and seeking to constantly inspire fans above all else.

That's what Brisbane have done this season better than any other club. The loss of Mel Andreatta was a huge, unexpected blow, but what the club have managed to do for a brand new coach in Jake Goodship is little short of incredible.

No club in the league has a stronger spine this season. Let's just take a look at it:

GK: Mackenzie Arnold

CB: Clare Polkinghorne and Carson Pickett

CDM: Celeste Boureille, Elise Kellond-Knight

CM - CAM: Katrina Gorry, Tameka Yallop

FWD: Hayley Raso, Allira Toby

If you went through the league and cherry picked your ultimate team, those positions wouldn't look much different.

The wealth of Matildas alone sets the team apart - these are players who have been combining together for a decade now and naturally flow better than any other side. But there are a few other reasons why Brisbane's lineup is so impressive.

They have some of the league's best young industrious talent to back themselves, in names like Indiah Paige-Riley, Rylee Baisden and Kaitlyn Torpey.

These are the sort of studious, consistent performers that tend to go under the radar but can actually add a lot more to a squad over the course of an entire season than one or two overtly exciting prodigies.

When you scratch beneath the surface, the team is largely a testament to the incredible production line in the Queensland NPLW. As we've spoken about before, it's hard to find a club with a better track-record of keeping their best players year-on-year.

Andreatta may be gone, but the culture at the club seems to be phenomenal.

"I obviously love playing for Brisbane Roar, it’s my home state, all my family and friends are here and there’s nowhere I’d rather be,” Raso said.

“There’s a core group of players that have been here together for the last few years – that’s special to have that group and great to keep adding world-class players," Pickett added.

Bringing the likes of Polks into the assistant coaching set-up this season speaks to the fact that they consistently make decisions that affirm this culture.

There may be bigger names and there might be better finishes, but in the face of what could have been an extremely disruptive off-season, Brisbane Roar have our nod for the best transfer dealings heading into 2019/20.