New South Wales skipper Steve O'Keefe believes his side is still in with a fighting chance against Tasmania despite the Tigers having the better of the third day's play in Hobart.
The Blues conceded 264-runs and first innings points during the first two sessions before dropping quick wickets to be 4-75 at the close of play on Wednesday.
They now face an uphill battle to take anything from their trip to Tasmania but O'Keefe isn't ready to concede just yet.
"You come down here and expect a good, hard tussle against the Tassie guys," he said. "It was a bold move by George (Bailey) to keep pushing the game forward b y declaring, but then again it was a good spell by us to get a few wickets and maybe discourage them from batting on."
"The game is very much in the balance but it's going to be hard work in the second innings to bat on out there with some uneven bounce. First thing's first, we've got to get a reasonable total for them to chase down."
O'Keefe and Peter Nevill will resume for the visitors on Thursday morning and face the tricky task of conserving wickets while pushing their lead beyond its current 71-runs.
"It's going to be tough but I think if we can get 200-plus that will be ideal. That will give the bowlers something to bowl at."
"We've got four good quicks in our side that can hopefully attack the pegs and make the most out of any inconsistencies in the wicket, but we're going to have to bat well."
"It's going to take some good batting from us to get up above that 200 mark but if we can get there it's game on from our point of view."
O'Keefe was unsure whether injured batsman Simon Katich would be able to bat during the second innings having worn a vicious blow to the face while batting on Monday afternoon.
But with Nevill at the crease and a couple of handy contributors lurking in the lower order, O'Keefe was confident the Blues would hit their target.
"It will be all about partnerships for us from here on in. If we can get three or four good partnerships of 30 or 40 it ticks things along. But not looking too far ahead, their bowlers are bowling well, Jimmy Faulkner especially, so it's going to be tough."