Scott Henry and Kurtis Patterson fell agonisingly short of posting centuries but have still powered NSW into a strong position in their Sheffield Shield clash against Victoria at the SCG.

At tea on day two, the Blues are 7-348 to lead on the first innings by 130 runs.

Henry missed out on his maiden first-class ton when he was bowled by Dan Christian for 92 having put on a potentially match-defining 117-run stand with Patterson.

Following the early departure of Ben Rohrer (34) on Thursday with NSW resuming at 2-128, left-hander Patterson came in and lifted the run-rate for the Blues.

He hit 12 fours and a six in his innings before being caught at slip by Cameron White off the bowling of Clint McKay for 94.

Patterson also put on 54 with skipper Peter Nevill, and the captain has since gone on with the job to be 34 not out at the break as he tries to lift the first-innings advantage for his team.

John Hastings (3-48) has been the pick of the bowlers for Victoria, knocking over Trent Copeland and Sean Abbott in quick succession to expose the NSW tail before tea.

Victoria are languishing in last position on the Shield ladder following the Big Bash League break, and desperate skipper Matt Wade has so far used eight bowlers.

A big opportunity was missed when Henry was 79 not out as White and Aaron Finch watched a nick fly between them in the slips.

Young Victorian spinner James Muirhead (0-47), picked in Australia’s squad for the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh, has gone for more than seven runs an over, with NSW keen to solidify their second-place position on the Shield ladder.