New Zealand Warriors prop Jackson Ford is out to a five-point lead atop the NRL’s Dally M ladder.

The front-rower has been awarded five points for his efforts in the 38-12 win over the Knights in Newcastle, giving him 17 points in total after two perfect six-point efforts to start.

Ford made the most tackles (44), the highest run metres (238), scored a try and even kicked a conversion in what was his 100th NRL game.

The victory is the Warriors’ third from three and puts them on top of the table at the end of a weekend for just the fifth time in club history.

They had previously been top after rounds 23 and 26 in 2002 – the year they won the minor premiership – after round two in 2009 and round one in 2019.

In second place on the Dally M leaderboard are Penrith Panthers stars Nathan Cleary and Dylan Edwards on 12 points. Cleary picked up five points and Edwards three for their 40-4 demolition of the Roosters in Sydney.

In third is Warriors halfback Tanah Boyd on 10, who was awarded five points after another commanding performance. Boyd scored a try, kicked four conversions, made two try assists, two linebreaks, one linebreak assist and 653 kicking metres.

Fullback Taine Tuaupiki and co-captain James Fisher-Harris each acquired one point for their efforts against the Knights.

South Sydney Rabbitohs fullback Jye Gray, Parramatta Eels half Mitchell Moses and North Queensland Cowboys fullback Scott Drinkwater all collected the maximum six points from round three.

Leaderboard after round 3

17 Jackson Ford (Warriors)

12 Dylan Edwards (Panthers), Nathan Cleary (Panthers)

10 Tanah Boyd (Warriors)

9 Mitch Moses (Eels), Sua Fa’alogo (Melbourne Storm)

8 Dylan Brown (Knights), Isaah Yeo (Panthers)

7 Harry Grant (Storm), Stephen Crichton (Canterbury Bulldogs)

Nathan Limm has been a journalist with Newstalk ZB and the NZ Herald since 2020. He covered the Netball World Cup in Cape Town in 2023, hosts The Big League Podcast and commentates rugby and netball for Gold Sport.