Wibsey Warriors' mammoth effort to get their Northside Road ground fit for play was rewarded with a sparkling 44-4 Pennine League success against Greetland All Rounders A.

With only a handful of matches beating the wet weather, the Warriors' unbeaten march to the Division Six title continued unabated as they were boosted by a hat-trick from free-scoring three-quarter Phil Brain.

A towering performance from 21st birthday boy Dave Coates added to the joy of Wibsey, who won at a canter against a plucky Greetland second string who are battling on with admirable fortitude despite propping up the table.

Thornton returned from Underbank Rangers empty-handed following their 42-16 reverse in Division Four.

Simon Giles was on song with a brace of tries and Graham Woodward followed him to the whitewash, while stalwart Johnny Alderson kicked two goals to add to his man-of-the-match award in a game that was a lot closer than the final score suggests.

Elsewhere, Bank Top Harriers' interest in the Andrew Bennett Memorial Trophy came to an end with a shock 30-10 second-round defeat at Division Three promotion rivals Lindley Swifts.

Meanwhile, Pennine League officials will have to get their thinking caps on following the shock withdrawal of three teams.

Moldgreen A have left Division Five but the main worry will be the loss of Harehills and Hoyland Vikings A, which leaves Division Seven with only six teams.

With just half the season completed, a possible solution may be for the remaining teams to play each other once more and to try and fill other blank dates with friendly matches.

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