Currently sitting on 98 appearances with three regular season fixtures remaining and her Perth Glory side sitting top of the ladder, it looks a sure thing that Kim Carroll will become the seventh player this season, and 19th overall, to reach a century of W-League appearances.

Katrina Gorry (Round 1), Leena Khamis (Round 6), Lydia Williams (Round 6), Shannon May (Round 7), Lisa De Vanna (Round 8) and Teigen Allen (Round 9) all also joined the '100 Club' this season, and out of the 18 players to reach the milestone, we still have 15 of those players currently playing in the W-League (assisted by the temporary return of Ash Sykes out of retirement).

Overall, leading the way is Sydney FC's inspirational captain Teresa Polias with 124 appearances, while Brisbane Roar & Matildas stalwart Clare Polkinghorne sits hot on her heels, just the solitary game behind on 123 appearances to date. 

Quite incredibly, Polias has featured in 124 of Sydney FC's 135 matches, whilst Polkinghorne has appeared in 123 of Brisbane Roar's total 133 W-League fixtures.

Sydney FC's Teresa Polias (Credit @StephanieMeekPhotography)

100 Club

1. Teresa Polias - 124* 11. Ashleigh Sykes - 109*
2. Clare Polkinghorne - 123* 12. Katrina Gorry - 104*
3. Marianna Tabain (ret.) - 116 =13. Shannon May - 103*
=4. Caitlin Cooper - 115* =13. Lydia Williams - 103*
=4. Tameka Butt - 115* =15. Teigen Allen - 101*
6. Laura Alleway - 114* =15. Lisa De Vanna - 101*
7. Ellie Brush (ret.) - 113 =15. Leena Khamis - 101*
8. Gema Simon - 112* 18. Nicola Bolger (ret.) - 100
9. Michelle Heyman - 111*  
10. Stephanie Catley - 110* * denotes still currently playing

 

First to 100 - Clare Polkinghorne

Although Polias leads the all-time appearance record, she was actually the third player to reach the century mark, with Polkinghorne the first to achieve the landmark against Western Sydney Wanderers on the 7th of January, 2017.

Just one week later, Melbourne City's Marianna Tabain (15/1/17) notched up her century of appearances, before Polias (21/1/17) followed suit. Canberra United's Ellie Brush (28/1/17) then became the fourth player in four weeks to reach the milestone in the 2016/17 season.

Sydney's Teresa Polias & Brisbane's Clare Polkinghorne (Credit @StephanieMeekPhotography)

Youngest to 100 - Steph Catley

Melbourne City skipper Steph Catley became the youngest player to reach 100 appearances on New Year's Day, 2018 against Western Sydney Wanderers at ANZ Stadium. At just 23 years, 11 months & 6 days, Catley beat the record previously held by Marianna Tabain by 113 days.

When Melbourne Victory's Teigen Allen reached her century in December last month, she became the third youngest player to reach 100 at the age of 24 years, 10 months & 14 days. 

Oldest to 100 - Lisa De Vanna

Conversely, in Round 8 of this season, Sydney FC's Lisa De Vanna came off the bench against Perth Glory to become the oldest player in W-League history to reach the milestone at 34 years, 1 month & 5 days. The Matildas legend has played for seven different W-League clubs and, like Catley, has featured in every season of the W-League. 

Soon to join...

Barring any injuries or surprise selections from Perth coach Bobby Despotovski, Kim Carroll (98) should reach the landmark this season, while Kyah Simon's recent injury will mean she will remain stuck on 95 and have to wait until next season to reach triple figures.

Current Jet Hannah Brewer and Victory forward Emily Gielnik are both currently on 93 appearances, and should also join the 100-club next season, while Matildas stars Caitlin Foord (91), Alanna Kennedy (90) & Sam Kerr (90) are also on target to reach the milestone next season. 

50 Club

Whilst only 18 players have reached the triple figure mark, 80 players have reached the half-century milestone, with Melbourne City's Lauren Barnes becoming the latest to achieve the feat during last Saturday's derby against her former club Melbourne Victory.

Of the 80, only two have hit the milestone this season, however, with Jets midfielder Clare Wheeler claiming her half-century against Perth Glory on the 15th of last month.

Brisbane skipper Clare Polkinghorne (Credit @StephanieMeekPhotography)

First to 50 - Clare Polkinghorne

It may not be a total surprise, but the Roar's Clare Polkinghorne was the first to reach the half-century mark, having also been the first to reach her century of appearances. Polkinghorne has been a virtual ever-present for Brisbane since day one, and on the 3rd of November, 2012, Polkinghorne made her 50th W-League appearance as Brisbane went down 3-1 at home to Sydney FC.

Polkinghorne was the first of a whopping 16 players who reached the half-century during the 2012/13 season, edging out Lana Harch (10/11/12), Renee Rollason (24/11/12) and Caitlin Cooper & Ellie Brush (both 5/12/12). 

Interestingly, Teresa Polias and Marianna Tabain were just 11th and 12th to reach the 50 appearance mark but went on to be 3rd and 2nd, respectively, to reach 100.

Youngest to 50 - Caitlin Foord

On the 5th of October 2014, at just 19 years, 10 months and 24 days old, Sydney FC's Caitlin Foord, playing for Perth Glory at the time, became the youngest player to reach 50 W-League appearances and celebrated the milestone by scoring two goals in a landslide 10-1 victory over the Wanderers.

Foord was the 44th player overall to reach the 50 game landmark and bettered Teigen Allen's record by just 33 days after Allen had claimed the mantle eight months earlier. 

Caitlin Foord during her spell with Perth Glory (Credit to Perth Glory)

Oldest to 50 - Melissa Hudson (nee Barbieri) 

Better known by her maiden name of Melissa Barbieri, the former Victory, Jets, Reds and Matildas shot-stopper became the oldest player to reach the half-century when she appeared for Adelaide United in the opening game of the 2014/15 season. At 34 years, 7 months & 25 days, Hudson eclipsed the mark set by Joanne Burgess by 119 days.

To put this into perspective, by contrast, every single player to reach 100 W-League appearances has been younger than Hudson when she made her 50th appearance.  

Soon to join...

Currently sitting on 49, Sydney FC's Amy Harrison and Adelaide United's Emily Condon should each make their 50th W-League appearance in this weekend's round of fixtures. Melbourne Victory's Angela Beard is also sitting on 49 but will need to wait an extra week as her Victory side enjoy the bye this round.

Melbourne City's Helen Caceres (48) is also within touching distance of the milestone, whilst teammate Jasmyne Spencer (45) will need City to reach another Grand Final if she is to reach the half-century this season.

Similarly, Victory's Christine Nairn (45) will need to guide her side to the decider to reach the mark, whilst Adelaide's Georgia Campagnale (45) will need the Lady Reds to at least make the semi-finals for her to rack up five more appearances this season.

Canberra United's Ellie Carpenter should break Foord's record (Credit @StephanieMeekPhotography)

Looking further down the list, youngsters Princess Ibini and Ellie Carpenter both currently sit on 42 W-League appearances. Both superstars look set to break Foord's record of Youngest Player to 50 appearances, with Ibini having until Christmas Day this year to reach the milestone, whilst Carpenter has an extra 3 months on her side, giving her until March 2020 to amass the eight appearances required to break Foord's (or potentially Ibini's) record.

The fact that Ibini and Carpenter are both born in the year 2000 is enough to make most of us here at The Women's Game feel old, but also reminds us that the future of women's football in Australia continues to grow and hopefully our Matildas can show the whole world just that at the World Cup in June this year.