Victoria has hit back hard on the second day of the Sheffield Shield final at the MCG to have Queensland 4-121 at tea in response to the hosts' first-innings 305.
Opener Ryan Broad (33) and the competition's player of the year, Chris Hartley (13) are the not out batsmen, but both have been discomfited by a hostile Bushrangers attack.
A streaky Broad, who scored a century in this corresponding fixture last season, has survived almost as many appeals as he's made runs and played and missed literally dozens of times.
Hartley, who took 22 balls to get off the mark, was given a life on three when substitute fieldsman Michael Hill spilled a straightforward chance at midwicket off Damien Wright.
Resuming on Thursday morning at 9-286, the Bushrangers' last pair Darren Pattinson and Bryce McGain added 19 before Pattinson was brilliantly caught by a diving Wade Townsend at square leg off Ben Cutting.
Queensland's plan was to build a substantial first-innings lead on a wicket that Bushrangers' keeper Matthew Wade described as 'two-paced'.
But that goal was made more difficult for the loss of Townsend (1) and No.3 Lee Carseldine (7) with only 14 runs on the board.
Dropped before he'd scored, Townsend was bowled through the gate by an exquisite Pattinson inswinger and, three overs on, Wright picked up the wicket of Carseldine, caught by Andrew McDonald at third slip.
Broad and new partner Chris Lynn rode their luck in the 45 minutes to lunch, but Lynn's deserted him 10 minutes into the second session when he was adjudged adjacent to a slider from Andrew McDonald that had a hint of leg-side about it.
Coming in at No.5, James Hopes cracked four boundaries in his 17, but the slash he expected to provide him with a fifth was intercepted by David Hussey at second slip off McDonald, leaving the Bulls 4-93.
Queensland advanced their score by just 63 runs for the loss of two wickets in the second session.
Matthew Wade was the first-day hero for Victoria with a fighting hand of 96 that helped to rescue the hosts from a perilous 6-75.
Dismissed in the second-last over of the day Wade enjoyed strong support from tailenders John Hastings (47), Wright (42) and Pattinson.
Chris Swan returned the best figures for the Bulls of 3-65.
Victoria first innings
Quiney c Hartley by Swan 15 (21)
Jewell b Swan 7 (32)
Finch c Simpson b Feldman 26 (42)
Hussey c Hartley b Hopes 8 (11)
McDonald c Hartley b Feldman 0 (1)
White b Cutting 10 (37)
Wade c Cutting b Hopes 96 (207)
Hastings c Hopes b Boyce 47 (116)
Wright b Swan 42 (53)
Pattinson c Townsend b Cutting 25 (57)
McGain not out 7 (28)
Extras: 22 (8lb, 12nb, 2w)
Total: 305 (10 wickets, 98.5 overs)
1-24, 2-33, 3-46, 4-60, 5-60, 6-75, 7-161, 8-245, 9-284, 10-305
Bowling
Swan 24 - 6 - 65 - 3 (2w)
Cutting 21.5 - 4 - 59 - 2 (8nb)
Hopes 22 - 8 - 43 - 2 (1nb)
Feldman 15 - 3 - 46 - 2 (2nb)
Simpson 5 - 2 - 25 - 0
Boyce 11 - 1 - 59 - 1
Queensland first innings
Broad not out 35 (130)
Townsend b Pattinson 1 (12)
Carseldine c McDonald b Wright 7 (7)
Lynn lbw McDonald 40 (63)
Hopes c Hussey b McDonald 17 (18)
Hartley not out 13 (56)
Extras: 10 (4b, 2lb, 4nb)
Total: 121 (4 wickets, 47 overs)
1-3, 2-14, 3-73, 4-93
Bowling
Wright 13 - 3 - 24 - 1
Pattinson 10 - 2 - 32 - 1 (3nb)
McDonald 13 - 5 - 36 - 2
Hastings 9 - 1 - 21 - 0 (1 nb)
McGain 2 - 0 - 2 - 0