What a fitting finish to an excellent W-League season.  Great venue, brilliant atmosphere, fantastic goals and, most importantly, quality football for all to see. 

Fans of women's football at times feel like they are part of an exclusive club. But unlike most exclusive clubs, they want to let everyone in.  They want everyone to know about this great place where the family can go and be entertained watching quality footballers and athletes. 

Over the last couple of weeks there is a feeling that more people have opened the door to the club and are liking what they are seeing. 

The feeling was there when the RBB created that wonderful atmosphere in the Round 12 Sydney Derby.  It was there again when The Den (Brisbane Roar) and the Glory groups (Perth Glory) turned up to support their teams in the semi-finals.  And it was there again on the weekend when The Cove and the various Melbourne Victory supporter groups created the intoxicating atmosphere at AAMI Park.

Each time there has been a surprised recognition of the standard of women's football.  It has come a long way in a short time.    

The grand final was a microcosm of the advancement of the women's game in Australia. 

The technical level has improved and in turn the speed of the game and ball movement.  The tactics are more sophisticated with real differences between sides evident.  Melbourne employed their usual 3-4-3 while Sydney counter-attacked with their 4-3-3.

The goalkeeping has improved so that most goals are due to quality play and not goalkeeping errors. There is real star quality about the players as was on display through Steph Catley, Petra Larsson, Brianna Davey, Kyah Simon, Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord and countless others in all the teams across the league. 

And the goals. Well they are not out of place in the highlight reels of any football competition in the world. We have also seen late in the piece unprecedented media coverage; back pages and copious articles. 

The frustrating part though is that with a season so short (we have a 8 month layoff!), we in the game have to start building the momentum all over again.  Despite that, I am optimistic that this season is a season we can build on. 

It's not all rainbows and butterflies, there are still issues to be worked on including the length of the season, moving towards full professionalism, broadcasting (in Australia and to overseas fans), officiating, marketing and promotion but those discussions are for another day. 

Today is to acknowledge that, whether it’s the quality of the footballers coming through the Australian system or the quality of internationals being brought into the league, this season's W-League has been the best yet. 

Yes, we have come a long way with further still to go.