Warriors rout Bulls to eye final

Western Australia has dominated the second innings with bat and ball to beat Queensland by 136 runs at the WACA Ground to stay in the hunt for a place in the JLT Sheffield Shield final.

After conceding a 37-run first innings deficit, the hosts took control on day three to beat the Bulls late in the Perth twilight, having taken the extra half-hour with the Bulls eight down to grab a result.

Captain Mitch Marsh's 105 was the catalyst for the WA fightback, a knock instrumental in setting Queensland a target of 312 for victory on Friday.

The Bulls never looked likely and lost their final eight wickets in the extended final session of to be all out for 175.

Pace bowling debutant Aaron Hardie took 4-33 to follow on from his 4-29 in the first innings while Joel Paris also ensured the match would not go into the final day with 3-47.

The win leaves WA with a nervous wait to find out if their season continues to Melbourne and a final with title favourites Victoria.

WA improved to second on the competition ladder with 43.90 points but can be overtaken by NSW if they can beat Tasmania in Hobart with three sessions remaining an an uncertain weather forecast.

"We're not there yet, but we've played some really good cricket over the last three weeks," Marsh said.

"We have fought extremely hard and we've given ourselves a chance. Hopefully things go our way tomorrow.

"I reckon we'll sit around and watch the live stream somewhere and just hope that Tassie can bat out the day for us."

While Marsh's 11th first-class century was the foundation for WA's success, he was well supported by Cameron Bancroft (52), Hilton Cartwright (41) and Josh Philippe (34).

The bowlers then played their part after Queensland duo Mark Steketee and Michael Neser took 4-65 and 3-61 respectively before WA were dismissed for 348.

Queensland's chase never looked likely, especially when former Test opener Matt Renshaw departed for 73 to leave Queensland in strife at 6-145.

"I thought the target we were chasing was pretty realistic with the way the wicket flattened out so it was a disappointing finish to the game," said retirement-bound Bulls quick Luke Feldman said.

"It's a bit of a mixture of us being flat and relieved right now with the season over. It hasn't been the best season for our team but there's a lot of hunger and desire to be bigger and better next year."

Western Australia XI: Cameron Bancroft, Sam Whiteman, Josh Inglis, Mitch Marsh, Hilton Cartwright, Josh Philippe, D'Arcy Short, Aaron Hardie, Joel Paris, Matt Kelly, Liam Guthrie

Queensland XI: Matt Renshaw, Joe Burns, Marnus Labuschagne, Charlie Hemphrey, Sam Heazlett, Jimmy Peirson, Michael Neser, Mark Steketee, Mitch Swepson, Luke Feldman, Billy Stanlake