Police Polecats sprung to the top of the men?s hockey league last weekend with a sizzling 4-2 victory over Upstarts which showcased the best standard of play seen this year.

It was an entertaining, fast-paced game dominated by strong runs from Polecat Nigel Deane who scored a hat-trick.

Deane started the scoring with one of the fastest ever goals in league history ? after less than 15 seconds, he converted a Lloyd Hopkins? cross before Upstarts had even had their first touch.

However, Donny Moniz soon put one in the net to bring Upstarts even.

Upstarts stayed in contention through the first half but Deane netted a second goal. Alan Gilbertson then equalised for Upstarts and at half-time the match was a tight 2-2.

The second half was marked by a furious pace. Upstarts free-flowing passing game was being countered with tactical pressure absorption from the Police as Justin Freisenbruch made a string of last-ditch tackles.

In the end though, Police won out with two, late breakaway goals ? including Deane?s third.

?Nigel Deane?s finishing was the difference between the two teams,? Upstarts captain Neil Carroll noted after the match.

Police currently lead the league with seven points while Upstarts are in third place.

In the other men?s match of the weekend, Chameleons continued their positive start to the season with a 1-0 victory over last season?s champs, Rebels.

Jonathan Dodd coolly converted for Chameleons when a short corner was slipped to him on the right of the D.

Rebels nearly drew level with only minutes to spare when a well struck short corner was expertly deflected around the goal by Chameleons ?keeper Mark Stevens who earned his first shut-out of the season.

Chameleons and Rebels, who have shared the league title between them for the last six years, played some fluent hockey at times, but both will face a tough time this year as the strength of the other teams in the league has increased. Chameleons are currently in second place with six points while Rebels are still looking for their first points of the season.

In Women?s play, Ravens A team again showed they plan to be a team to be reckoned with this season with a 6-2 victory over Canaries.

Ravens have already scored 11 goals although they are only two games into the season.

Both clubs put out their strongest teams but Ravens proved to be dominant throughout most of the match, controlling possession and territorial advantage.

Ravens Emma Simmons opened the scoring and Caroline Black soon followed two blinding first half goals on penalty corners.

As Canaries tired in the second half, Ana Abend and Emma Simmons added goals and Rebecca Payne completed the scoring following a fine run.

Canaries star Lisa DeSilva was on target twice in the losing effort but was largely held in check through some tight Ravens marking by Anna Teceira.

Ravens B team also took a win over Canaries ? no doubt inspired by the A team?s stellar performance.

Helped by their youthfulness and fitness, Ravens dominated much of the game and were able to secure an early lead when Louisa Freisenbruch scored a goal from a first-time shot on a penalty corner.

The Ravens defence did a great job in ensuring the team held onto their lead resulting in a final victory of 1-0.

Swallows A and B squads both secured wins over Swifts on the weekend, despite some hard play by the youngsters.

The A match was a battle but Swallows eked out a 2-1 result.

While they dominated the possession for long periods of time, Swallows wasted a number of penalty corners in the first half.

Alternatively, Swifts Keishae Robinson smacked the ball into the net from Swifts first penalty corner in the 18th minute.

Late in the half, however, Liz Osbourne answered back by driving into the D before slipping the ball to right wing Kirstie Kelly who slammed it into goal from an almost impossible angle, past goalkeeper Angela Dunstan, to even it for Swallows.

The second half brought a feisty battle for possession, with Swifts constantly pressuring the Swallows defence. But Swallows found their feet in the 54th minute when the Swifts defence cleared the ball to an unmarked Sam De Putron who passed off to Jennie Burrell to take the lead and match with a 2-1 victory.

The B match between the teams ended with a 1-0 win for Swallows.

In other B play, Orioles secured two wins with a 4-0 victory over Bluebirds on Saturday and a 1-0 defeat of Cardinals on Sunday.