Pontefract continued their near-flawless start to the Yorkshire Premier League season with a convincing victory at Ferriby Hall that puts them three points clear at the top of the table.

The West Yorkshire club were dead level with Hallamshire heading into matchday three, but their 19-3 victory over the bottom club in Humberside and Hallamshire's narrower 16-9 victory against defending champions Doncaster saw Ponte open up a small gap at the summit.

Early straight-games victories for teenager Chester Dockray and Adam Taylor set the tone, then Ponte skipper Matt Godson was pushed slightly harder by Ferriby Hall's former England no.1 junior Ben Sockett, but still came through in three.

Pontefract's only defeat on the night was at No.2 where club champion Tom Bamford was defeated in five gruelling games by Dan Ince. Ince's cousin and fellow Guyana international, Sam Ince-Carvalhal, then took on Sam Todd, now thankfully over the ankle injury that kept him sidelined since February 2023. Todd showed he is almost back to his best with a rapid 11-4 11-7 11-5 win.

In Sheffield, 2022/23 title-winners Hallamshire faced defending champions Doncaster and it proved to be a tight affair. Matt Gregory beat Norfolk's Rob Thirst, making his first Yorkshire League appearaince for five years, in three. Thierry Moesner then ground out a five-setter against Ed Walker 11-9 in the fifth.

Back came Doncaster with David Turner beating namesake Adam Turner in four, but former world No.1 Nick Matthew settled the result with a match to spare by toppling Doncaster skipper Joel Arscott. The top-order clash was a big one between world no.104 Temwa Chileshe and world no.55 Simon Herbert. It was Leicester-based Herbert who took it in four to reduce Hallamshire's margin of victory to 16-9.

Third-placed Dunnington fell to their first defeat of the campaign as Queens left the York club with an 18-6 victory on the scorecard. Danny Bray had to dig deep against home captain Matthew Stephenson for a five-game victory at fifth string, but Northern Irishman Stephen Hearst and Kuwaiti Bader Almaghrebi won more briskly.

Veteran James Earles put the icing on the cake with a four-game win over Pakistani Amaad Fareed at No.1, and Dunnington's only succour came from Jamie Brown's four-game victory at second string.

There were celebrations on the east coast as newly-promoted Cleethorpes got their maiden top-flight victory by beating winless Abbeydale 16-6.

Cleethorpes' strong middle order did the damage, with Welshman Elliot Morris Devred, hometown boy Harry Falconer and Oscar Hill all winning in swift fashion. Ricky Walters had claimed a gruelling early victory for Abbeydale and Wales international Rhys Evans got another consolation for the Sheffield club by beating Malaysian Sanjay Jeeva at top string.

Woodfield move up to fifth spot after giving a debut to Egypt's Moustafa El Sirty in their 17-8 win away at Harrogate. The former British Junior Open champion was world no.22 as recently as last year before being hit by injury. 

The tall 22-year-old beat Stuart MacGregor in four games at No.1 but by then the Woodfield victory was already secured thanks to earlier wins for Alex Cutts in five, Adam El Shazly in four and youngster Caleb Boy, also in four. Charlie Waller, just 13 years old, had a great experience playing Alec Fuller despite going down in three.