Will the real Melbourne Victory please stand up?

At the conclusion of Melbourne Victory's 1-1 draw with Sydney FC, three disappointed players arrived for post match interviews.

It's a testament to the sea change that has undertaken the Melbourne Victory since the Round 1 disaster that Jess Fishlock, Lisa De Vanna and Brianna Davey all felt the Round 5 clash was two points lost rather than a point gained.

"It was a game that we should have won," said striker De Vanna. " Three points were there for us."

"There are a lot of positives to take out of it.  We created a lot of chances but chances don't win games."

Fishlock, who was still in Scotland playing for Glasgow City in the UEFA Women's Champions League in Round 1, was equally disappointed with the result despite her own performance and goal.

"We can probably be a little bit disappointed that we only got a point from a certain point of view."

"I think we totally dominated the game from start to finish and we created a lot of chances which was very positive."

"I know for them [the team] after the first game, that that game is totally different and this is the real Melbourne Victory."

To say the Victory were outplayed in their season opener would be an understatement but since then the Season 5 finalists have progressively emerged into the outfit many had tipped as strong challengers for the Championship this season.

"It didn't do us justice to how good we could be," said goalkeeper Brianna Davey.

"I think the Melbourne squad now is the squad you will see from now on."

The reason for the quick turn around?

Well it could be the better balance and structure of the team with the inclusion of the outstanding Fishlock and Swedish defender Jessica Samuelsson, or the resounding wake up call they received that success wouldn't just happen.

For De Vanna the arrival of Fishlock has been very much welcome.

"It's fantastic; it's like having another Collette McCallum but more aggressive."

"It's nice to have some-one of that caliber come in and say "this is what we want, this is want we demand" and people listen."

The veteran striker is another of the players to come into last season's squad.  Joining the established forwardline of Caitlin Friend and Enza Barilla, and although she has provided plenty of drive, De Vanna has yet to get into her goalscoring stride.

"It's kind of hard because the girls don't know exactly what to expect from me and I don't know what to expect from them."

"But we are working on it.  Caitlin [Friend] is doing quite a good job and Enza [Barilla] is unpredictable sometimes but in nearly every game she has created something."

"To be honest I still feel they [the team]haven’t seen the best I can do.  I am still trying to gel and still trying to fit in the team."

An ominous warning for defenders in the W-League once she does get it right.  Despite the fact that their star striker is yet to fully fire, the Victory head into the back half of the season in a good place.

On top of the ladder for the second straight week (although a number of teams have games in hand), the Victory are well and truly now the hunted; a new experience for many but one that doesn't trouble them.

"You don't really take it any differently," commented Davey.  "You just go out, stick to your game and work hard for one another."