In the W-League's 11 year history, a wooden-spooner has never made the following season's finals.

Every single week Dean Heffernan's Wanderers squad break new records.

It's a combination of factors, many of which will already be evident to our eager readers. But honestly, the situation is a little strange.

Firstly, it's becoming obvious that Western Sydney Wanderers were vastly underachieving in the W-League until this point.

We're talking about one of the A-League's biggest, wealthiest and best-supported clubs. Yet, they were perennial W-League underachievers, hopelessly so.

The following statistics, more than anything, affirm just how bad the Wanderers were for large periods of their history. Last season included.

But first, let's look at what Western Sydney are doing right, in the hope of providing some context to how exactly this turnaround has happened.

FIRST, YOU GET THE MONEY

It's brilliant for Western Sydney's diehard supporters that the club has managed to turn it around this season in such startling fashion.

But behind every other change that's gone on at the club, are simple, raw economics. It's taken an increase in investment across the board - bringing in guest players, poaching top-drawer NWSL talent, building a new stadium with new resources...none of this is cheap.

Chief executive John Tsatsimas described it to the Sydney Morning Herald before the season began as a "significant investment".

"What we've tried to do is strip it back and provide a statement that we mean business," Tsatsimas said.

"We'd like to think everything is in place for them to have a really great season, enjoy their football and represent western Sydney in the female space in a good way."

The money comes from a five-year women's sponsorship deal, believed to be the biggest in W-League history, with commercial fit-out and construction company Intermain.

THEN, YOU GET THE POWER

Dean Heffernan has experience at Y-League level and was a very accomplished stalwart of a player in the A-League and England's lower leagues, but he'd never coached a female team before round one this season...he'd never even coached a professional side.

Now he and similarly decorated, yet inexperienced, assistant Michael Beauchamp are coaching the W-League's pre-eminent threat.

They've now dispatched two of their biggest rivals for the Championship 5-0 and 4-0, back-to-back.

Sydney FC, who copped the 5-0 roasting, also boast some of the best players in the W-League and they're a settled team. It demonstrates just how powerful that increased investment has become.

Western Sydney lead the league undefeated after six rounds, with 16 goals and only three conceded.

The only draw came against reigning premiers Melbourne Victory, but Western Sydney had almost 20% more possession, over 30% more shots and 136 more completed passes.

In other words, Casey Dumont may have had something to do with it.

But despite the money, the power can also be attributed to Heffernan's management style. This season has been a stark change from the club's fortunes under previous coach Dan Barrett, or any previous Wanderers coach all the way back to Stephen Roche, for that matter.

He puts the success down to his ability to communicate frankly and honestly with his team.

“That’s the most pleasing thing, we will tweak things during the game, and the girls will tell me this is not working or we need to change a little thing here and there," he said.
 
“We are working together as a unit. So it’s really good like that.
 
“It’s a team effort. As I said we are evolving. I feel like we are in a really good space to keep cracking on and keep getting better.”

It's not surprising, given Heffernan's relative inexperience of female football, that his ability to listen to his own players' advice is resulting in incredible football.

However, for a manager who's April arrival truly marks the beginning of the Wanderers resurgence, we can admit it's impressive from an ego perspective.

THEN, YOU GET THE WOMEN

The elephants in the room here are reigning NWSL champions, North Carolina Courage's star imports, Denise O'Sullivan, Lynn Williams and Kristen Hamilton.

All of whom have a realistic stake to be considered the best in the W-League in their relevant positions.

Then you add a dynamic prodigious youngster like Kyra Cooney-Cross, a seasoned midfielder like Ella Mastrantonio and a rock-solid centreback partnership and, well, you have a turnaround like this.

  • The Wanderers are now unbeaten in six consecutive games for the first time in their club’s history.
  • The Wanderers have now equalled their record for the greatest number of wins in a single season.  
  • Last night's 4-0 win comes off the back of their biggest ever victory last week against derby rivals Sydney FC.  
  • Kyra Cooney-Cross and Lynn Williams both became the first (and second) Wanderers to score twice in a game.

Lynn Williams expressed best how important the Wanderers success, from the cellar of Australian football to the pinnacle, is to increasing the quality of the W-League.

"If the Wanderers can come from last year and step up our game, it's only going to continue to push this league more and more, and I'm so happy to be a part of it," she said.

However, just how easy it's seemed, doesn't exactly help excuse Western Sydney's past ineptitude.

THE PROBLEMS OF THE PAST

Before this season the Wanderers had never made the finals and never won more than four games in any single campaign. It all led to just 19 wins from 84 games in total, failing to ever make a finals appearance.

  • Wanderers have never finished above sixth place, in their debut season, finishing eighth or ninth five out of seven times.
  • While they currently possess the best defensive record in the league, they shipped no less than 21 goals in their previous seven seasons.
  • In October, 2014 they were demolished 10-1 by Perth Glory, on their way to conceding a horror 42 goals in a single season.
  • Goal scoring has been a persistent issue until this season, scoring 11 in 12 matches last campaign.
  • In 2015, the Wanderers top scorer only managed two goals, for the last two seasons, it was three both times.

Only four players from last season have been retained for good reason.

The culture at the club that led last season's campaigners to finish last with one win, one draw, 10 losses and a goal difference of -19 has been harangued by former stars like Remy Siemsen.

The current golden boot leader swapped back to Sydney FC this season just to be slammed by the Wanderers in the derby.

"Sydney are consistent and have a successful history, that's something that the Wanderers didn't have," she said.

"Our performances were very inconsistent and they didn't have the leadership you'd hope the team had."

THE PROMISE OF THE FUTURE

But despite the journey it's taken for the club to get to this point, there remains one key factor in the turnaround that has gone under the radar.

Even while the club was performing terribly by its now lofty standards, there were a community of people behind the scenes and on the pitch like Erica Halloway.

The club veteran of 50 appearances embodies a passion that only truly exists among fans and players who have had to endure the tough times, before they've discovered success.

She, in a nutshell, is why the increased investment, attention and success is so richly deserved.

“You know I’ve only played with this club, I’ll only play with this club," she said.
 
“It’s been heart-breaking every year, we have always been in it but never got a win, it’s unreal.
 
"It means so much to me to run out on the field every time and to be finally in a season where we are doing well.
 
"It just means everything."