Otago has at least secured one piece of silverware for the season, winning back the Donald Stuart Memorial Trophy with a 33-22 win over Southland in Invercargill.
Hawkes Bay beat Counties-Manukau 27-21 to win the Log O' Wood on Saturday and take it back to Napier, with Otago set to be the first challenger on September 14.
Otago lost the prized trophy to Hawke's Bay last year so revenge will be a big motivator for the men from the south. It will be Otago's second challenge of the year after it lost to Counties-Manukau on August 23.
But Brown was not looking too far ahead: there were some tough games before Hawke's Bay - the first against six time champion Canterbury at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Thursday.
''We have got two games before we have a crack at the shield so we need to look at them first. For us, Canterbury is playing pretty awesome rugby,'' he said.
''We always want to perform as well as we can at home. We have got to prepare as well as we always have and be ready to take them on.
''Defensively we have to be very good. And we have to attack to beat them and score some tries. It's good to play someone like Canterbury. They have won the competition for six years in a row and we want to test ourselves against them.''
After the Canterbury match, Otago will take on Northland on September 10, again under the roof at Forsyth Barr Stadium. The game against Hawke's Bay will be Otago's fourth in 15 days.
Brown may be tempted to rest some key players against Northland before the challenge but that is always difficult in such a tight competition.
Otago should take some confidence into the coming games after its performance on Saturday night in Invercargill when it showed some character to stand tall against Southland.
Otago was much more physical and tough than in its previous game against Counties-Manukau and won through its strong defence and ability to deny Southland any flow.
Brown said it was a typical match between the two southern rivals.
''It was just a niggly game. Otago-Southland games tend to go that way. I thought in the first half both teams tried to play some footy in the sunlight.
''But in the second half the traditional game came to the fore, just niggle and not a lot of footy played.
''But it was good to win. We fronted up physically and defensively I thought we were really good. We made massive gains there.
We just got into the fight, I guess, and won it.''
The visiting side conceded two tries inside the first few minutes and was staring down the barrel at a heavy defeat as the Southlanders had their tails up.
But Otago held on to the ball at vital times and came back into the game, going to the break with a lead.
Brown said the side recovered well from a poor start, and credited some hard work on defence.
''It was good for us to fight back and get into the lead and the tough it out and be physical. I guess we did what we had to do to win the game.
''That is all about character. Leaders stepping up and others following.''
Brown praised his midfield, with Tei Walden and Michael Collins performing well and closing down most of Southland's attacks.
With such a short turnaround before the match on Thursday, Brown may be tempted to make a couple of changes to his starting line-up.
The likes of halfback Nick Ealey, hooker Sam Anderson-Heather and lock Jackson Hemopo may get a start.
It is a difficult task for Brown for he will not want key players using too much physical and mental energy in the lead-up to the game in Napier.
One good thing from the match on Saturday was no players picked up injuries.
