Simon has spent the majority of her W-League career with Sydney FC but has now joined City and has taken teammate Alanna Kennedy with her.

One of City’s main goals was to raise standards and make Australian football more professional since the City Football Group came on-board, rebranding from Melbourne Heart.

It has been no secret that there have been some horror stories in the W-League since its inaugural season, including players having to get changed in tents and cars and having to share demountable showers.

Simon, 26, said she would be the first person to admit she had experienced difficult conditions in the W-League, but felt City can challenge other clubs to raise the bar.

“It’s exceeded my expectations, I heard a lot of positives about the club and having quality changing rooms and treatment and physio rooms,” Simon told FourFourTwo.

“A lot of things I’ve never experienced in a W-League season before so as a professional athlete, that’s what you want to have is the best environment to be able to play your best football.

“I’ve definitely experienced some unacceptable conditions within my time and being a footballer, I think female athletes in general have experienced that a lot.

“I can only see positives, I’m hoping other clubs will follow suit and will lift the whole standard and W-League and get to a fully professional standard in the next coming years.”

City captain Steph Catley also believes the Matildas’ achievements in the past two years has only boosted the domestic league, in particular, winning the 2017 Tournament of Nations.

“A lot of the recent growth is thanks to what we’ve done to with the national team, that exposure and interest in the Australian public has really grown based on our results,” Catley said.

“Melbourne City in itself is a pioneer for all of that. As a result people have wanted to come and play for us.

“We’ve now got a couple of games on SBS, FoxSports, the game just continues to grow and the more exposure we can get, the better it will be for women’s football.”

City kick off their 2017/18 season in a grand final rematch against Perth Glory in nib Stadium on Friday night.