All of it.
The Eels have strung together an almost perfect season.
Only almost perfect though, because there is still one very important game to go.
They still have to win the final against Southern at Forsyth Barr Stadium this afternoon.
Taieri is chasing a third consecutive title, which creates some extra pressure.
And there is the weight of history as well.
If the Eels can win they will become the first team in 40 years to go through a Dunedin premier grade season unbeaten.
Southern is the only side to have managed that rare feat since the Otago Daily Times began keeping detailed statistics in 1976. It won 16 in a row in 1982.
Taieri captain Leroy Ferguson is not the type to buckle, though. The 20-year-old will be playing in his third consecutive premier grade final and he has not lost one yet.
He will have some experienced campaigners alongside him.
Lock Brodie Hume brought up 100 games for the side last year. Replacement back Kori Rupene has cracked 150. Centre Mitchell Scott just keeps going and going and getting better and better.
"Yeah, we do [have a lot to play for]," Ferguson said.
"But we won’t change much. We’ll just turn up like it is any other game and just need to stick to our game plan."
That game plan has worked rather well. It it simple too. Taieri’s game starts and ends with a well-organised defensive structure which has held up against all challengers this season.
It even managed to keep a clean sheet in the semifinal against Dunedin last weekend, winning 30-0.
Its set piece is solid. Caleb Leef gets good distance into the clearance kicks. Scott has run some cunning lines in the midfield.
The loose forward trio is a wonderful mix of power and finesse, and the Eels make so few mistakes that the door is always kept closed.
Taieri is such a heavy favourite that one critic even suggested Southern could start playing on Friday and still lose.
Southern captain Harry Taylor (20) is aware not many outside the Magpies faithful are expecting his side to emerge victorious.
"Our plan is to just play to our strengths," Taylor said.
"To try and start nice and strong like we have most of the season and play with a lot of confidence. And we are going to be looking to put in an 80-minute performance out there."
It took 100 minutes to get past Kaikorai in the semifinal last weekend.
First five Jack Leslie knocked over a penalty in extra time to seal a 36-33 win.
"I think that just showed our character as a team. We are all getting quite tight now ... and are just pretty much prepared to go to that extra length for each other."
Perhaps Southern’s best hope is to use its big ball runners like Mika Mafi and Mike Mata’afa to punch holes around the ruck and put Taieri under some scoreboard pressure.
It will need to keep the energy levels high, and that might be a challenge on a fast and dry surface which is completely foreign to the conditions they find at Bathgate Park most weekends.
The extra distance the forwards will need to cover at the covered stadium will likely favour the more mobile Taieri pack.
Southern also has some issues out wide. Key centre Paul Tupai has fractured a bone in his leg, which means regular fullback Mackenzie Haugh will move into the midfield and be tasked with marking Scott.
Haugh has some pretty good memories from his last appearance in the final. He came on as a sub for Southern and scored three tries to help his side clinch a 24-15 win against Harbour in 2017.
The Magpies will need more of that kind of magic to upset Taieri.
Dunedin premier grade final
Taieri v Southern
Forsyth Barr Stadium, 3pm
Taieri: Taine Craig-Ranga, Marc Rooney, Mitchell Scott, Brayden Laing, Taylor Fiddes, Caleb Leef, Kace O’Neill, Sam Fischli, Leroy Ferguson, Jessie Hutton, Josh Hill, Brodie Hume, Cameron Allan-McNeill, Brady Robertson, Ben Mosa’ati-Fosita. Reserves: Morgan Jones, Tom Hill, Kace Shaw, Tom Bolton, Trey Russell, Kori Rupene, Shannon Young.
Southern: Jamie Crawford, Kiardyn Hatch, Mackenzie Haugh, James Te-Pairi, Dylan Hook, Jack Leslie, Shibata Ryoto, Mika Mafi, Jordan Dwight, Harry Taylor, Aron Einarsson, Izaak Parata, Mike Mata’afa, Jake McEwan, Sonny Mulipola. Reserves: Jay Tofaeono, Tafa Tafa, Jack Taylor, Rewi Pomare, Ned Pene, Wilson Driver, Matt
Horne.
