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!”