East Gambier holds the high ground of its heavyweight Barber Shield battle with Penola after an opening day split by two halves at Scott Park.
The Eagles entered the clash with the superior form and momentum and consolidated the advantage by getting first use on a surface being baked by the sun.
Captain Mark Smith led by example posting a gutsy half century on the scoreboard to push his team to a position of strength at 2/93.
But fast-forward little more than an hour and the Bulldogs were taking guard after Penola was tied down by the spinners and crumbled to 134 all out.
The late collapse gave the Eagles pacemen 11 overs to regain some momentum and put the home side into some trouble heading into the second day, but no inroads were made with East finishing well on top.
The day started in similar fashion as the Bulldogs won the first hour of play despite being forced to bowl in the sapping temperatures.
After containing the Penola openers to just two runs an over, Liam Turley made a statement with his left-arm pace.
Turley first found the edge of Jack Schulz before a brave move from Dion Stratford to keep up the stumps paid off when he stumped Lewis March.
But the double strike brought the Eagles’ skipper to the crease and he was determined to stamp his authority.
Batting alongside Lachlan Jones making the most of a promotion up the order, the duo reconsolidated the innings with a calculated approach.
The experienced batters were watchful to protect their wickets, but attacked when presented with the opportunity with Smith striking Travis Younghusband for a maximum.
The only mental mistake made during the stand was Jones’ carefree attitude to protective equipment which paused play after drinks to collect his box.
But once fully protected the pair continued to chip away as they pushed the score to the brink of triple figures.
At the halfway mark of the day, East looked set to spend the remainder of the afternoon standing in the sun, but its toil eventually paid off.
Bulldogs’ captain Alex Hentschke brought himself back into the attack at the right time, finishing the 75-run partnership by pinning Jones lbw for 20.
A long build up of pressure allowed Hentschke to knock over Drew Clayfield and suddenly the skipper dragged his team back in the game.
He then handed the baton over to brother Ben Hentschke, who went to work tangling up the Eagles with his leg breaks.
The Hentschke of the “Pie” variety stole the show stopping Smith on 55 before spinning through the tail to pick up 4/38.
Turley (3/20) and Alex Hentschke (2/20) also played big roles as Penola lost 8/41.
The turn of events flipped the game on its head and after Ben Hentschke and Leigh Von Duve negotiated a tricky 11-over period before stumps without a hiccup to leave just 104 runs to for the Bulldogs to chase on day two.
