The Kookaburras enjoyed a 4-1 win over Mittagong on Saturday, while Yerrinbool-Bargo Bushrangers who were previously in the lead, had the bye.

Will Jacobs found the back of the net twice for Hill Top with Josh Nickl and Kris Spilarewicz also scoring.

Mark Woszczalski was the goalscorer for Mittagong.

While the win put them in first place, Kookaburras player Michael Murray said it wasn’t the team’s best performance.

With the ball “popping round all over the place” Murray said the side’s ball control could have been better.

“We dominated but we didn’t have full control of the ball,” he said.

Hill Top also tried some positional changes which Murray said worked well.

Backing up from youth grade Dylan Errington had a good game and Murray said Chris Packer also played well.

This weekend Hill Top will face Bowral.

“We’ll just work on ball control. We always discuss what went wrong the week before and try to improve on that,” Murray said.

In the other men’s premier league match on Saturday, Moss Vale and Bowral fought out a 1-1 draw.

Bowral captain Stuart Kinsella was pleased and said it was the first result his side had had against Moss Vale this season.

Both teams had several players unavailable for the match, with many of Bowral’s players backing up from reserve grade.

“Fortunately we were able to hang in there and compete,” Kinsella said.

Jarrod Gould, who usually plays in the backline for Bowral, moved into the midfield where he scored Bowral’s only goal.

Kinsella said Tim Psilos also played well.

With a tough game against Hill Top this weekend, he said they hoped to have a few regular first graders return.

“We’ve shown we can be competitive but we have to try to do that for 90 minutes not just for 60 or 70 minutes,” Kinsella said.

Moss Vale coach Gordon Boyd said it was a game of missed opportunities for his team but was pleased with the defence and the midfield.

“Bowral took their chances. We didn’t take our chances [but] it’s hard to score when there’s a lot of pressure put on you,” he said.

Lachlan Smith found the back of the net for Moss Vale.

They too were down on players and with the bye this weekend, Boyd said they expected to get a few back in a couple of weeks time.

Heading into the finals, Moss Vale will face Hill Top and Yerrinbool.

Boyd said his team needed to focus on playing to the conditions and overcoming them.