KARL Spring bagged a hat-trick of tries as Clayton posted a comfortable 42-12 victory at Division Two Central bottom side Wakefield City in the Pennine League.

The Villagers, who was seeking their first double of the campaign, started positively, dominating the early field position and forcing the home side to kick from deep to clear the early pressure.

A sweeping move saw the ball flash through several hands before centre Ryan Wilkinson put winger Danny Priestley on a side-stepping run to the posts.

The hosts replied in kind before a dropped pass was seized by Devon Gurney, who raced to the whitewash.

This was quickly followed by another splendid Clayton effort when Spring plucked a kick from stand-off Jack Bowman from the air to reach the chalk.

Wilkinson was on target twice with the conversion attempts to see the visitors into the sheds 16-6 to the good.

Scott Pendlebury's boys started the second half on the front foot and immediately added to their lead when a quick play-the-ball allowed Luke Barnes just enough space to squeeze through at acting half to burrow over.

A tap-and-run penalty was shipped wide at pace, giving Spring a walk in at the corner – and the lively centre then punished the Wakefield outfit further when a rapid raid allowed him to power over for his hat-trick.

Clayton switched the point of attack to give Priestley his brace, which spurred Gurney to match him shortly afterwards with his second touchdown as the hosts wilted.

They had to resort to fisticuffs to stem the tide, which resulted in a free-for-all involving several players from both sides before order was restored with a stern warning from the referee.

Two more extras were tagged on to the scoreline by Wilkinson before Bowman took over to land his solitary kick of the game and complete a productive afternoon for the travellers.

Prop forward Chris Whitehead was rewarded for his long stint at the heart of the action by collecting the man of the match prize. He just beat the equally impressive Spring, who posted his second successive hat-trick against the City men this season.

Meanwhile, Brighouse Rangers can say farewell to their slim chances of challenging for the Championship title after they failed to raise a side to visit Ossett Trinity.

Rangers had six players withdraw shortly before travelling and will be deducted two points from their tally by Pennine League bosses.