Highlights: Sheffield Shield final, day three

Bad light and rain prematurely ended day three of the Bupa Sheffield Shield final, and with it the likelihood of a result in Hobart.

At stumps, the Commonwealth Bank Bushrangers are 3-288, trailing the Alcohol.Think Again Western Warriors by 133 with allrounder Marcus Stoinis (43) and Peter Handscomb (16) occupying the crease.

Only 15 balls were bowled after tea before the umpires escorted the players off the ground for bad light, which was shortly followed by steady rain that set in for the remainder of the evening.

The lost final session has all but ended the Warriors’ push for victory, still requiring 17 Bushrangers wickets with two days left.

Only once in the last 10 Shield finals has the team who finished second won domestic cricket's showpiece, but centurion Chris Rogers says the pressures faced in the five-day fixture replicate those at the highest level.

Chris Rogers makes a ton in Shield final

"I do like the system where the best side over the course of the whole season wins the competition," said Rogers when asked if he saw a future for the Shield final.

"But also it gives people a little taste of what Test cricket is all about.

"Playing a five day game under this type of pressure is like Test cricket.

"And that’s important for guys who are aiming for the higher level."

On a lifeless pitch that has offered nothing to Western Australia’s pace quartet, 58 runs were scored from 29 overs in the second session as Victoria slowly reeled in the first innings deficit content that a draw would guarantee the state’s 29th Sheffield Shield trophy.

The only wicket of the afternoon came via the eighth delivery with the second new ball when veteran middle-order batsman David Hussey missed a Simon Mackin (1-40) leg stump-bound rocket to fall lbw for 33.

While the Warriors have been disciplined if not deadly, they’ll rue a dropped chance at short mid-wicket by opening batsman Marcus Harris, who grassed a regulation catch to spare Stoinis on 21.

The miss would come back to haunt them, as the 25-year-old dug in to continually thwart the persistent stump-to-stump strategy of the Western Australian attack.

The highlight of day three came when Victoria and Australia opening batsman Rogers scored his 72nd first-class century to put his side in a commanding position on a gloomy day in the southern capital.

Rogers brought up his hundred from an edge through the vacant second slip region to the applause of his boundary-riding teammates and the groans of the opposition who were still lamenting a rejected caught behind appeal off the last ball of day two.

Rogers raises his bat on day three in Hobart // Getty Images

Replays suggest Rogers may have got away with one, but the veteran made the most of his luck, posting his second century of the season to confirm his status as one of Australia’s premier top-order batsmen.

Rogers revealed he had "practically" ruled himself out two days before the match with a glute injury he suffered in Victoria's last Shield match in Alice Springs, but recovered to score one of his finest knocks.

"It was all about getting the job done today, and I think we’ve fought pretty hard," Rogers said.

"We’re in a pretty good position, we just have to make sure we start off well tomorrow. That’s going to be crucial."

Day four is set to be a grueling day of cricket with 105 overs to be bowled, and despite Victoria's position of power, Rogers says it's not over yet.

"It’s just about us batting for as long as we can (tomorrow)," he said.

"There’s some crucial periods in the game, particularly when (Nathan) Coulter-Nile’s bowling.

"And it is reversing, so we've got to make sure we make no mistakes from here on in.

"There’s a lot of cricket to be played in this game, but if we bat well and we bat safe, we’re in a very good position."

Entering the day at 0-135, Rogers and Quiney built on their impressive opening stand after play was delayed by half an hour due to a wet outfield.

The first-wicket partnership added 32 before Rogers raised bat and helmet as the 37-year-old reached triple figures, while Quiney played patiently to reach his half-century from 146 balls.

The Warriors needed a breakthrough and it came first ball after drinks when Rogers failed to connect with a sweep stroke and was judged lbw to give Ashton Agar (1-54) his first wicket of the match and 28th of the season.

Twelve runs later Quiney followed his opening partner back to the pavilion after Nathan Coulter-Nile’s full-length delivery halted on the pitch to produce a false stoke from the left-hander to the waiting hands of WA skipper Adam Voges at short mid-wicket.

Despite the damp playing surface, Coulter-Nile (1-53) was getting the ball to reverse, attacking the stumps of Stoinis and Hussey relentlessly, but the third-wicket blend of youth and experience withstood the interrogation.

Hussey, playing in what could be his last Shield match for Victoria, made his intentions clear early on, pouncing on an Agar long-hop to get off the mark with a bruising six over the mid-wicket fence.

Victoria: Chris Rogers, Rob Quiney, Matthew Wade (capt), Fawad Ahmed, Scott Boland, Dan Christian, Peter Handscomb, David Hussey, Peter Siddle, Marcus Stoinis, James Pattinson, Jon Holland (12th man).

Western Australia: Cameron Bancroft, Marcus Harris, Michael Klinger, Adam Voges (capt), Shaun Marsh, Sam Whiteman, Ashton Agar, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Nathan Rimmington, Andrew Tye, Simon Mackin, David Moody (12th man).