The Brumbies silenced any lingering critics about their title chances with a 38-28 victory over the Chiefs.
The game had a real finals feel to it in the first half, with the plethora of Wallabies in Dan McKellar's side standing up to power them home, establishing themselves as one of the teams to beat.
So what did we learn from the match?
1.Making a statement
The Brumbies showed they have the firepower to match it with the best as they vanquished any lingering demons from last year's defeat with a solid performance.
Scrumhalf Nic White controlled the contest from the outing with his early try as their defence hung tough across the 80 minute performance.
Sam Cane after the match labelled them as the 'benchmarks' and they showed it after the second half, an area where they have conceded points in the past, running away with the contest and taking the crowd out of it.
Whilst wins over the Highlanders and Hurricanes were much-needed, winning in Waikato is a major step towards legitimising their claims as one of the best teams in Super Rugby Pacific, if not the world.
2. Bobby at his best
If there was a favourite for an MVP from the Australian sides this season, Rob Valetini has to be up there, if not the front-runner.
Valetini was again immense for the Brumbies, providing impactful carries whenever the club needed it. This was evident just after the break, showing the improved motor to deliver three rapid-fire, quality hit-ups before Len Ikitau sliced through the defence.
His break in the 70th minute was elite late in the game to set up Billy Pollard and secure the win.
3. Setting the tempo
Arguably the Brumbies main weapon is their forward pack and they really turned the tide early in this game.
When Valetini's attempt of a repeat try from last week failed to come off, the Chiefs looked to send a message on their goal-line by keeping the ball in the scrum unnecessarily, trying to outpower them, like they did to the Reds last week.
But the visitors' ability to not only ride the initial push but find a way to crumble their pack and earn the penalty sent a message to the Chiefs and Brendon Pickerill.
This coupled with a similar effort to get over from the resulting maul will do wonders for their confidence as unsung heroes like Sefo Kautai and Cadeyrn Neville continue to deliver alongside Slipper, Fainga'a and co.
4. The Wright stuff
Tom Wright continues his development as an all-around playmaker with another strong performance for the Brumbies.
Wright has seemed to embrace a greater licence to roam, showing off the rapid speed and great passing game to find Pete Samu inside three minutes, setting up Nic White's dart down the blindside.
He replicated his efforts in the second half, stepping into first receiver and making the perfect read to put Ikitau over.
5. Fill the stands
It's time for the ACT and wider Southern NSW to give this Brumbies team the crowd they deserve against the Crusaders on Friday.
This is potentially a Grand Final preview, with these two teams and the Blues looking more and more likely to make-up the decider on June 18.
They are playing such an exciting brand of Rugby and have done more than enough to see GIO Stadium pumping with supporters.
