Vics on back foot despite fightback

Victoria face an uphill battle to earn anything from their JLT Sheffield Shield match against leaders Queensland after a tough day two at the MCG.

The defending champions ended the day at 3-153, still 299 runs in arrears of the Bulls' 5-452 dec.

Victoria's plight could have been much worse after they were reduced to 3-59 early in their innings.

However, rookie Will Pucovski (64 not out) and veteran Cameron White (36 not out) fought their way through the final session to give the home side some relief.

While it seemed hard going for the Victorian batsman, runs flowed freely for the Queenslanders earlier in the day allowing for a declaration just after lunch.

Resuming at 4-333, the Bulls scored quickly during the morning session as Sam Heazlett and Jack Wildermuth added 155 for the fifth wicket.

Heazlett cracked his second first-class ton and remained unbeaten on 124, while Wildermuth fell six runs shy of becoming the third batsman to reach three figures in the innings after opener Matthew Renshaw's 170 on Friday.

The Queenslanders are looking for a win to maintain their position at the Shield summit, having moved to the top last weekend for the first time this season with victory over Tasmania.

Victoria: Travis Dean, Marcus Harris, Eamonn Vines, Will Pucovski, Cameron White (c), Matt Short, Seb Gotch (wk), Chris Tremain, Peter Siddle, Scott Boland, Fawad Ahmed

Queensland: Lachlan Pfeffer, Matt Renshaw, Marnus Labuschagne, Sam Heazlett, Charlie Hemphrey, Jack Wildermuth, Jimmy Peirson, Michael Neser, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Luke Feldman.