IT is the most professional female sporting club in the country.

So if Melbourne City fails in its quest to become the first W-League team to win back-to-back championships in Sunday’s grand final against Perth, it won’t be through lack of preparation.

For the four or so months the team is together from the start of pre-season until finals, this is their full time job.

And Jess Fishlock, who has been player-coach since a club-wide coaching restructure last month, said the demands are high.

“When you are here, this is your sole job, your sole priority,” Fishlock said.

“We talk about wanting to be treated like professionals and having everything that a professional athlete has — which the City Group provides, there’s no doubt about that — but it’s then up to us to be professional in what we do.

“This is not just a 9-5 job, it’s a 24-hour gig. You might only be in here for a few hours some days, but then it’s your job to keep recovering properly — and that might take you until you go to bed.

“You have to sleep properly, make sure you eat well.

media_camera Melbourne City W-League players head out for a training session at the club’s Bundoora base.

“But that’s a mentality that has to be drilled in to the players, because as soon as you start thinking ‘I only want to be in here for an hour, I just want to train and go home and do other things’, that’s when it doesn’t work. It can’t work.”

Where the women’s AFL teams train three times a week — usually at night to cater for work or study commitments — City’s is a seven-day-a-week set up.

Take this week.

After winning their semi-final in Canberra on Sunday night, City players travelled home on Monday and then were back at the club on Tuesday morning.

Players are required to be at the club’s Bundoora training headquarters — where the women’s team has its own dedicated training pitch, change rooms, gym and recovery facilities — by 9am each day.

media_camera Melbourne City player-coach Jess Fishlock at the club’s training facility.

Training is generally at 10.30am, as it was on Tuesday, before most players had massage or physio, ice baths and other recovery activities.

Wednesday was the first video analysis session of the week, followed by training and then a gym session in the afternoon.

Thursday was a day off, today there will be another video analysis session and training.

Saturday morning they fly to Perth, train on nib Stadium in the afternoon and then take on the Glory on Sunday night.

City’s 20-woman squad splits a $150,000 salary cap, a pittance compared to the $2.6m salary cap — plus as many as three marquees — for the men.

media_camera Steph Catley in the Melbourne City boot room.

But the majority of City’s players are able to treat soccer as their fulltime job with other playing commitments.

Six players are or have recently been Matildas: Lydia Williams, Laura Alleway, Steph Catley, Larissa Crummer, Teigan Allen and Aivi Luik.

Five are international imports: Fishlock (Wales), Erika Tymrak, Beverly Yanez, Lauren Barnes (USA) and Rebekah Stott (New Zealand).

All bar Allen also play for clubs overseas — Luik in England, the rest in the U.S. — while the majority who remain here during the off-season are still at high school or university.

Captain Catley says the professionalism at City is like no other club she’s played for.

media_camera Melbourne City players (l-r) Lauren Barnes, Beverly Yanez and Amy Jackson play foosball at the club’s training base.

And at City there is no differentiation between men and women when it comes to making sure the team’s preparation is optimal.

“If you look at the video analysis, we have the group analysis session where Jess and PK (senior assistant Patrick Kisnorbo) run through the game we’d just played,” Catley said.

“Then we get sent our own individual statistics and highlights packages.

“The second group analysis session will be on the team that we’re about to play against, how we’re going to exploit them.

“It helps to get a picture in our head so that we go out and train specifically for that team.”