Coach Craig Johnston had an understrength side at his disposal as they made the trek to Stephen Davies Field, and that didn't help as they went up against a United side that produced their best team performance of the season so far.

Despite Dubbo sitting above Parkes on the table, it was the home side who got off to a dream start when they scored in the sixth minute.

From a free hit outside the 25m line, Nicole Knox fired a great pass into the circle to find Syann Allen in open space.

Allen showed great poise to slot the ball past the keeper and give Parkes a 1-0 lead.

Although not able to score any further goals in the opening half, Parkes created some great attacking opportunities to keep Dubbo on the back foot.

United returned to the pitch after the half-time break and started nervously, giving away easy possession to the opposition.

Parkes were able to regroup after 10 minutes and settle back into some strong hockey

They extended their lead when Allen scored her second goal after excellent lead-up play by Stacey Ross.

Ross showed lovely skill to beat several defenders and lay off to Allen in perfect space in front of goal.

Allen was able to slot the ball into the net after a tussle with the keeper for 2-0.

Parkes' defence, led by fullback Codie Wakefield was outstanding.

Dubbo rallied to produce their best spell of the game and were able to force some penalty corners late in the match.

United's defensive five were able to repel all of the attacking opportunities.

Parkes worked hard until the final whistle and were rewarded when Paige Hay forced a penalty corner in the dying seconds.

Denise Gersbach and Sarah Melhuish combined well with a nice set play for Melhuish to slot home and give Parkes a well-deserved 3-0 victory.

Stand-in coach Hamish Orr was thrilled with the team's performance.

"Our defence was outstanding today," Orr said. "At the moment, it is the defence who is winning us games."

Johnston and his players will have an extra week to regroup from the loss, with a general bye for the Easter weekend followed by an away trip to Orange Ex Services.