Western Australia were 0-18 at stumps after bowling out South Australia for 328 on Saturday's opening day of the Sheffield Shield match at the WACA Ground.
After South Australia were dismissed just under an hour before the close, WA openers Marcus Harris (15) and Cameron Bancroft (2) survived nine overs to see the Warriors through to the second day.
New Redbacks captain Travis Head won the toss and elected to bat in his first match since replacing Johan Botha, and his decision looked good when Mark Cosgrove and Callum Ferguson were in control and the score was 1-160.
However, when Cosgrove fell for a season-high 89 on return to South Australia from Tasmania, matters deteriorated for the Redbacks and they lost regular wickets 328 despite 81 from Callum Ferguson.
On a pitch that offered little assistance for the pace bowlers and WA being without key quicks Jason Behrendorff and Nathan Coulter-Nile, getting through the hot Perth conditions to pick up South Australia's last nine wickets for 168 runs was a good result.
It was a good all-round effort by the bowlers with Michael Hogan taking 2-79, Nathan Rimmington 2-64, Ryan Duffield 2-81 and Adam Voges 2-15.
Duffield picked up the key wickets of Cosgrove and Ferguson, but had a tough day in his first game of the season with 11 no-balls and being cautioned for running on the pitch.
The Redbacks made batting look easy in the first session-and-a-half with Cosgrove and Kelvin Smith putting on an opening stand of 73.
Smith fell for 30, caught at slip by Shaun Marsh off Simon Mackin, but Cosgrove and Ferguson then took control with the former particularly dangerous moving to 78 from 79 balls at lunch.
He struggled with 11 from 33 balls after lunch and was caught down the leg side off Duffield for 89. Ferguson then became the mainstay for the Redbacks before being caught hooking at fine leg by Mackin off Duffield.
In between, Tom Cooper made just 10, Head 28 and Alex Ross two before Tim Ludeman did well making 36 and Adam Zampa remained not out 21 to help the Redbacks to reach 328.
Cosgrove felt the Redbacks were well placed to try to win the game to stay in the race for the Shield final.
"We are placed in a really good position to score 330 on day one. That always has you in the game so we definitely feel in the game," Cosgrove said.
"We batted well and it would have been nice to get a big score but we'll take 330.
"It would have been nice to get one or two wickets tonight, but it's on a knife's edge."
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