Side essential to steamer (4)

I believe the answer is:

team

'side' is the definition.
(a side is a sporting team)

'essential to steamer' is the wordplay.
'essential to' indicates a hidden word (I've seen this in other clues).
'TEAM' is hidden in the letters of 'steamer'.

(Other definitions for team that I've seen before include "Squad; side" , "People working together" , "Side; match" , "Company" , "One side in a game" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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