"Some of the best bowling I've faced, full-stop."
That was Queensland opener Ryan Broad's assessment of the Bushrangers' efforts to prise him from the crease on Thursday in the Sheffield Shield final at the MCG.
Chasing Victoria's 305, the Bulls were 6-199 at stumps on day two, thanks in no small part to Broad's meticulous 80.
It was the glue which kept the Queensland innings together, though there were literally dozens of times during his 300 minutes in the middle when it almost came unstuck.
"(Damien) Wright is bowling beautifully, he was swinging it seemingly at will and moving it off the wicket as well," said Broad.
"For a wicket that's meant to be flat, he was bowling really well."
"(John) Hastings had a nasty inswinger going - it was really tough and a good battle between bat and ball."
"It felt a bit 'Gabba-ish' today, the way the ball was bouncing around."
"It's a funny wicket - it feels really hard and you look at it and think it's flat, but I must have been batting for 150 balls and I thought to myself, 'I still don't feel 'in''."
Broad said he was disappointed to depart so close to stumps - bowled by one that was tossed up from veteran leg-spinner Bryce McGain.
"You set yourself up to bat for the day as an opening batsman and at time it was a bit of a grind, but to fall over at the finish line was a bit frustrating," said Broad.
"It wasn't a bad ball, it was sort of getting a bit of late drift and ... I might have got a bit cute with it."
"I did 90 percent of the job today and it would have been nice if I had made it 100 percent."
Asked about his great record against the Vics which includes three centuries and a 96 in seven innings leading up to this match, Broad said: "I'm not sure."
"It's funny, I can't get a run at Bellerive Oval but I can get runs at the MCG - it must just be coincidence."
Broad believes the Bulls are well-placed to take a first-innings lead.
"We're in a better position than they were at six wickets down, that's for sure," he said.
"We've got full confidence in our tail, they've been batting brilliantly for us all year."
"If we get up somewhere near their total and maybe even beyond it, there's going to be some serious pressure on their top order in the second innings."