Here's a little interesting comparison - league positions at the end of the last 2 seasons and the current position
Current 14-15 13-14
MC 1 5 10**
BR 2 6 1
AU 3 3 6
WSW 4 9 2
PG 5 7* 8
MV 6 1 4
SFC 7 2 5
NJ 8 10 7
WP 9 4 9
CCM 10 8 3
*Salary cap violation
**As Melbourne Heart
Teams who haven't made the playoffs in 3 years: Jest
Teams who have made the playoffs once in 3 years: Nix, CCM, Perth
Teams who have made it twice: Sydney, WSW, City/Heart
Teams who have made the playoffs in all 3: Brisbane, Adelaide, Victory
No team has been top 4 in all 3 seasons
WSW went from 2nd one year to 9th the next. Brisbane and Victory have both gone from 1st one year to 6th the next. In the other direction we went from 9th one year to 4th the next, which WSW are doing at the moment too. City/Heart went from 10th to 5th.
I guess it's just showing that big changes in league position from one season to the next are actually quite common. It isn't a leap to think that a couple of new players and a fresh start to the season without the license crap hanging over us could see us back in the top 4 next year.