While the season is still only in its infancy, the defending premier Thunder and Keilor have quickly established themselves as the two dominant teams of the competition.

In five combined games the Thunder and Keilor have kicked a total score of 524, while conceding just 33 points.

The Thunder have received a massive boost this year with the return of Brisbane Lions AFLW forward Bella Ayre, who wasted no time exerting her influence last week with a five-goal haul against the VU Western Spurs.

“It all happened fairly late with the Brisbane Lions signing off on it, but it’s fantastic having Bella back. She’s a fantastic player and person to have around the club,” Thunder coach Luis Alvarez-Harris said.

The combination of Ayre and captain Andrea Walsh – last year’s NFLW leading goalkicker – is bound to give opposition defences plenty of headaches throughout the season

Sunday’s game at Keilor’s Joe Brown Reserve starts at 2.20pm.

“From the results so far we’re expecting Keilor to be around the mark, so it will be a good challenge on Sunday,” Alvarez-Harris said.

SUPERB STARTS:

Round one:

Bendigo Thunder bye; Keilor 17.9 (111) d Darebin 0.2 (2).

Round two:

Bendigo Thunder 22.17 (149) d Diamond Creek 0.0 (0); Keilor 5.2 (32) d VU Western Spurs 3.7 (25).

Round three:

Bendigo Thunder 11.11 (77) d VU Western Spurs 1.0 (6); Keilor 22.23 (155) d Whitehorse 0.0 (0).