NSW are on the verge of slipping to a 15th straight Sheffield Shield game without a win, falling to 8-124 at stumps on day three in pursuit of 379 for victory against last-placed Victoria.
After entering Saturday still holding some hope of claiming victory, the Blues' chances were quickly extinguished at the MCG in a long first session with the ball.
With Victoria resuming at 6-131 in their second innings and with a lead of 225, the hosts added 153 for the final four wickets to take charge of the match.
Peter Handscomb hit 90 for Victoria, driving neatly through the covers and taking Nathan Lyon on down the ground when he over pitched.
Tailender Fergus O'Neill then did the bulk of the damage, hooking and swinging his way to an unbeaten 70 and combining in a 58-run final-wicket stand with Scott Boland.
And while Lyon (1-49) had Todd Murphy caught in close for his first wicket in any format since returning from a calf injury, there was little to smile about for NSW.
"It's been a long 15 weeks, a lot of calf raises. It's been enjoyable," Lyon said.
"It is always good to get back to first-class cricket.
"You can always look for improvement (in your bowling). That is the key as well. Was it great? No. But as I said, it's OK."
Needing a miracle to stay in the match, any hopes of a Blues fightback were quickly killed with the bat.
Opener Ryan Hackney was caught at first slip off Boland for four, while Daniel Hughes left a ball that angled in at his off stump on six.
And when Moises Henriques and Black MacDonald were both out for 14 in quick succession after tea, the game was as good as done.
Will Sutherland did the bulk of the damage for the Vics, taking 3-21 and removing Henriques when he had him lbw and MacDonald caught behind in back-to-back overs.
Todd Murphy also claimed 2-13, forced to wait until late on day three to bowl in the match before getting Ben Dwarshuis lbw and Chris Tremain caught-and-bowled.
Only a resolute effort from Lyon and Jason Sangha (53no) in the final half hour of play forced the game to extend to a fourth day.
NSW's current situation does not make for pretty reading.
While at least six of their players are regularly unavailable at any one time through national duties, the state's record is of enormous concern.
Defeat against Victoria will leave them without a win since February 2022, with their 15-match winless streak well worse than their previous record low of 10 matches.
After being all out for 102 in the first innings, NSW are also at risk of being bowled out for less than 150 twice in a match for only the fifth time this century.
Only two-match rookie MacDonald and Sangha have faced more than 50 balls across this match.
