Victoria's quicks have claimed a couple of vital early wickets in defence of the team's first-innings 305 in the Sheffield Shield final against Queensland at the MCG.
At lunch, the Bulls were 2-58 with opener Ryan Broad unbeaten on 13 and Chris Lynn 31 not out from 37 deliveries faced.
Pacemen Damien Wright and Darren Pattinson subjected the Bulls to a torrid 75 minutes at the crease after Pattinson and Bryce McGain added 19 runs for Victoria's last wicket in 35 minutes on Thursday morning.
Resuming at 9-286, the Bushrangers' innings closed on 305 when Pattinson was brilliantly caught by a diving Wade Townsend at square leg off Ben Cutting.
After thwarting Victoria's plan to bat the Bulls into oblivion, the task for Queensland was to build a substantial first-innings lead on a wicket that Bushrangers' keeper Matthew Wade described as 'two-paced'.
That goal was made more difficult for the loss of Townsend (1) and Lee Carseldine (7) with only 14 runs on the board.
Dropped before he'd scored, Townsend was bowled through the gate by a lovely Pattinson inswinger and, three overs on, Wright picked up the wicket of Carseldine, caught by Andrew McDonald at third slip.
Broad and, especially, Lynn lived dangerously in the 45 minutes remaining in the session.
Broad, who scored a century at the Junction Oval in this corresponding fixture last season, survived a couple of very close lbw appeals off Wright and the vast majority of Lynn's runs have come from edges through and over the slips cordon.
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 chasing what would have been just his second first-class century, Wade enjoyed strong support from tailenders John Hastings (47), Wright (42) and Pattinson.
The trio combined with the keeper for important partnerships of 86 for the seventh wicket, a quickfire 84 in just 66 minutes for the eighth, and 39 for the ninth.
All four Queensland quicks, Chris Swan, Luke Feldman, Cutting and the bustling James Hopes got among the wickets with Swan returning the best figures of 3-65.
Conditions in Melbourne are fine with a forecast top temperature on Thursday of 29 degrees.
Victoria first innings
Quiney c Hartley by Swan 15
Jewell b Swan 7
Finch c Simpson b Feldman 26
Hussey c Hartley b Hopes 8
McDonald c Hartley b Feldman 0
White b Cutting 10
Wade c Cutting b Hopes 96
Hastings c Hopes b Boyce 47
Wright b Swan 42
Pattinson c Townsend b Cutting 25
McGain not out 7
Extras: 22 (8lb, 12nb, 2w)
Total: 305 (10 wickets, 98.5 overs)
FoW: 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 13
Townsend b Pattinson 1
Carseldine c McDonald b Wright 7
Lynn not out 31
Extras: 2 (1lb, 1nb)
Total: 58 (2 wickets, 18 overs)
FoW: 1-3, 2-14
Bowling
Wright 8 - 3 - 18 - 1
Pattinson 5 - 1 - 15 - 1 (1nb)
McDonald 4 - 1 - 20 - 0
Hastings 1 - 1 - 0 - 0