It was Lee Ashton that had at the key impact as he returned for the defending champions, scoring just three minutes into the contest and adding two more across the ninety minutes for a key hat-trick.

The Cookers stretched their lead further ahead with a Brad York own goal just after the 31^st minute, while Dan Yaxley added to Ashton’s haul with his own minutes after the start of the second half.

Elsewhere on the weekend, Wallsend disappointed Kahibah away from home with a 3-2 win over the tenth placed club, despite the home team taking the lead early at Kahibah Oval.

It was Riley Ferguson that opened the scoring, and gave Kahibah a glimmer of hope as they continue to look for a way out of the doldrums of tenth place, but Ty Goldsmith levelled the score early in the second half for the Red Devils. Travis McCabe and Matt Williams both scored to put the travelling squad two ahead with twenty to run.

Ferguson netted his second of the match in the dying moments, but it wasn’t enough to turn the result around, and Wallsend returned home with all three points in their pockets.

In the other Saturday match, South Cardiff made short work of last placed Toronto Awaba, as the Stags scored just one in reply to the Gunners’ six-goal flurry. Four were scored in the opening half.

On Sunday, Thornton drew with Singleton at Thornton Park, with Nick Thompson bagging a double for the Redbacks, while Belmont Swansea claimed all three points against West Wallsend with a clinical 3-nil victory. Cam Lodge, Sean Matthews and Josh Sutton were the scorers.

TABLE: Cooks Hill (41), Belmont Swansea (29), Thornton (27), South Cardiff, West Wallsend (25), Singleton (23), Wallsend (21), Cessnock (19), New Lambton (15), Kahibah (13), Toronto Awaba (8).