It was missing in round one, but the boot of Lachie Day was the difference between victory and defeat for Waratahs on Saturday.
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Day struck a sideline conversion to give the Wagga side the lead back against Albury at Murrayfield.
In the end it was the difference.
Waratahs scored one less try than their rivals but Day's four successful conversion attempts and a penalty goal gave them the edge to take a 31-29 victory.
In contrast Blake Le Cornu only kicked two conversions, and missed a penalty attempt in the dying stages.
Waratahs coach Jonno Andreou wasn't thrilled with the performance, but he was pleased to come away with the win.
"There is still lots to work on as we didn't execute at all, our line out wasn't very good and our scrum got demolished but there are all things we can work on," Andreou said.
"When we stuck to our patterns and our game plan we looked really good but we just need to stick to it for the whole 80 minutes, not just five or six minute patches."
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Waratahs jumped out to a 14-0 lead before the Steamers got themselves back into the contest.
A double from Harrison Goggins helped the Steamers get back in front but they couldn't hold on after going to 14 men three times during the game.
Instead Rob Selosse crossed for his second late to help Waratahs get back in front.
Andreou was pleased with how his side kept fighting.
"It is a good outcome to get a win like that," he said.
"When you get to the finals you have to grind out wins so it was good to see that we had the patience to get there in the end but it was frustrating to watch as a coach."
Day didn't just impress with his boot, but Andreou was also impressed with how he controlled the Waratahs attack while Emilio De Fanti and Dugald Grieve were strong in the forward pack.
Waratahs are bracing for another big challenge when they host Griffith at Conolly Rugby Complex on Saturday.
The Blacks extended their winning start to the season with a 30-5 win over Tumut.
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