A seven-wicket haul from James Mack has helped Albion move into a winning position in their clash with Mornington at Wolseley Oval.
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Winning the toss and electing to bat, Mornington got off to a steady start thanks to the new opening combination of Justin Carter (41) and Henry Johns (18).
The pair navigated through the opening portion of the day's play before Mack broke the partnership by dismissing Johns.
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From there, Mornington lost three more wickets to be teetering at 4-70.
Marcus Hayne (18) and Corey Matthews (22 not out) tried to steady the ship as Mack ran through Mornington's middle and lower order.
Claiming the last two wickets of the innings, Mack finished with 7-41 as Mornington was dismissed for 121.
The experienced campaigner had a hand in a total of nine wickets in the innings, as he also claimed two catches.
Mack was backed up by Ash White (2-14) and Gary Briggs (1-31), who bowled a staggering 23 overs for the innings.
"I thought Gary bowled really well without much reward," Mack told the Leader.
"He could have very easily ended up with four or five wickets, but he just didn't get the luck.
"It happens like that sometimes, I was just lucky enough to get a bit of a roll on.
"Some of my wickets were the tail, so it probably looks more impressive on paper than what it actually was."
Having to face 16 overs to see out the day's play, Albion openers Brad Cady (31 not out) and Will Maggs (17 not out) were able to help their side finish the day at 0-52.
"Mornington did play quite slow, which I think might make it tough for us to look for an outright win," Mack said.
"They will have a better bowling attack next week, so we just have to focus on getting their runs either none or one down.
"From there, we will have to wait and see what happens.
"It's hard to score quickly at Wolseley sometimes, so we will just focus on the first innings and then re-evaluate the situation."
Saturday's seven-wicket haul was a new career best for Mack, who also doubles as a wicket keeper for Gunnedah's War Veterans Cup team.
"I don't really have a preference between bowling and keeping," he said.
"I'd like my keeping to be a bit better than it has been lately, but I just do whatever my captain asks.
"For me it's about being versatile, or at least trying to be."
Saturday's action will begin from 1pm at Wolsely Oval with Albion trailing Morington by 69 runs.
Billy Jupp
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
Billy is a Senior Livestock Journalist for the Queensland Country Life based in Toowoomba. He has worked for a variety of different ACM mastheads during the past five years including the Namoi Valley Independent, Northern Daily Leader and The Land.
