If someone told me 12 months ago that Western Sydney would be sitting in outright second place on the ladder after Round 20 of the 2012/2013 A-league season, I would have laughed in their face.

Not only did the Wanderers not exist 12 months ago, but even the months following the team’s announcement, all the fans were merely hoping was to be competitive and simply not to come last. A respectable 7th or 8th place at the end of the season would have been acceptable if the team didn’t lay down for anyone and gave it their all. Perhaps just barely sneaking into the finals would have been a massive accomplishment and the season would be labelled a huge success, something worth building on.

And yet, here we are, 20 rounds in and Western Sydney are sitting in second place. How did this happen? How did a team full of “rejects”, “has-beens”, “never-wases”(sic) and unknown foreigners become the solid unit they are today? Obviously Tony Popovic and his staff need to take the majority of the praise with what they have done to shape this team into what is now, genuine title contenders.

There are players that many fans of their previous clubs were happy to see the back of. Players like Nikolai Topor-Stanley who lost a tonne of weight since joining the Wanderers and is now being labelled as arguably the best and most consistent defender in the entire league this season. Mark Bridge is another example who has scored eight goals now, which is his best season to date in terms of getting on the scoresheet.

Every single player on the Wanderers’ roster has a similar story. They were cast aside from their old clubs, fans rejoiced and then mocked when they signed to the rookie club, labelling the entire exercise a disaster waiting to happen. When the foreign players signed, no one knew who they were or their pedigree.

But again, Popovic scouted perfectly with the likes of Jerome Polenz being one of the most consistent rightbacks in the competition (and has effectively kept Tarek Elrich out of the squad). With Youssouf Hersi in front of him, they have been terrorising the left sides of defences since the opening round. Mateo Poljak has been a rock and is an unsung hero in the engine room of the midfield. Iacopo La Rocca started slowly but has become crucial in filling in the gaps from suspensions and injuries in defence and in midfield. Dino Kresinger has been getting better as the weeks pass, his workrate second to none as he defends from the front and is a general nuisance to all defenders.

Last but not least is Shinji Ono himself, who also started a bit slow but every week is showing his class with his vision and passing ability. Getting onto the scoresheet more regularly over the past month or so has made him even more crucial to the team’s success.

With this band of apparent misfits, Popovic has led the team from last on the ladder after the first Sydney Derby in Round 3, to within touching distance of the coveted first place after Round 20. The key to success has been consistency, especially this season as most teams struggle to get a run of positive results week after week. The table reflects this.

Now fans are starting to talk about the finals, and possibly even a grand final appearance. Media pundits are doing the same, discussing this dream run for the Wanderers in their debut season. We wanted to scrape into the finals, and a month ago the team all but sealed a home playoff by establishing itself in the top four - way ahead of the rest of the pack. Top four was merely a dream talked about in hushed whispers six months ago, now we are talking about top two. The fans are talking about it openly. Publicly the club is trying to maintain a level of focus that they’ve had all season, trying not to get too ahead of themselves.

This past Saturday, the Wanderers put one of their demons to bed. They defeated Newcastle who were one of two teams that they had yet to beat this season. A win over Central Coast remains elusive and when the two teams face in a few weeks time, it could be season defining in terms of final table positions. But before that takes place, Melbourne Victory stand next to challenge the Wanderers and attempt to cut them to size. It’s a massive game and is poised to be a sellout.

The entire season has been a dream run, there is no doubt. The results notwithstanding, but the sold out jerseys that are a prized possession amongst the fans. The extremely healthy crowd numbers out to see the team that has won their hearts so quickly. No one could have asked for more the day the team was announced.

But with only seven rounds to go, the Wanderers are quietly daring to dream. Could they go all the way to Premiership and/or Championship glory? No one in their wildest dreams would have considered it six months ago. But now, after winning their fifth match in a row - a feat unchallenged this season - we dare to dream.

What if?