The teenage ace fired a one-under par 71 on Saturday to hold a three-shot lead over nearest rivals Blair Prescott, defending champion Jarrod Fary and fellow rising star Noah Best.

Perry, the 2016 winner, said he was content with his round but could improve aspects of his game.

“Last year (in the championships) I struggled and wasn’t really feeling confident,” he said.

“It’s a different year and a good start. But I had reasonably soft bogeys in the round which was quite annoying.

“There’s things I have to work on, I don’t know if it’s mentality or the way I approach the hole or different clubs. I will work on it the next couple of weeks.”

Perry, who will play pennant for Commonwealth in Melbourne on Sunday, said scoring under par was always pleasing.

“I felt my iron game was on today and my driving has helped me a lot lately,” he said.

“Hitting the fairways is a confidence-booster.”

Daniel Oakley (75) and Ashley Quick (76) also made solid starts to the A-grade battle which will resume on March 17.

Club captain Colin Williams, who played in B grade, said it was a quality list of top-grade contenders, praising Best who he walked the course with.

Nick Brown (77) holds a one-shot lead over Matt McNamara in B grade.

Josh Lock (79) rounds out the top three.

Gary Wills (83) enjoys a handy buffer over Basil Coverdale (91) in C grade, while Ricky Smedts (99) leads Derek Bean and Rory Campbell-Gavin, who both shot 102, in D grade.