A QUICKFIRE three goal spree from Royals was enough to put the Barbarians on the back foot 3-2 in the final clash of a huge week of Grafton A-Grade men's hockey.

Backing up from a 4-0 loss to Bears last Tuesday night, and a 6-2 defeat at the hands of Sailors on Friday night, the young Royals outfit could be forgiven for going into Sunday's match a bit shell-shocked.

But they took the field with a vigour which belied the fact they had played four matches in eight days, blasting home two goals in the first ten minutes, before ramming home the early dominance with another just before the 20 minute mark.

"We did really well early in the match and shot out to a 3-0 lead," Royals captain/coach Michael Hughes said.

"We applied good pressure to the Barbs throughout that first half and held our 3-0 lead until the break.

"I think everyone was buggered after the amount of hockey we had played in the last week, but we held in and were able to keep them out long enough to make sure we got the win."

Some desperate defence was required from Hughes in the second half as the Barbarians warmed to their task and fought back with two second half goals.

Hughes credited much of his side's improvement to fellow Royals stalwart Matt Lobsey who returned to the side and strengthened the midfield.

"To get Lobsey back in the middle was great, and we played with a bit more control and a lot more communication," Hughes said.

Lobsey was one of the three Royals goal scorers, with Jack Taylor and Thomas Dougherty also netting one each.

The Barbarians enjoyed a mixed bag of results last week.

A hard-fought 2-2 draw with competition benchmark City Bears on Friday night was a highly anticipated clash and delivered quality hockey in spades.

Bears' big guns Mark Pollack and David Dart both graced the scoresheet, with the Urquhart brothers Laurie and Troy squaring the ledger late in the match.

The Bears then went on to down Sailors 4-2 on Sunday.