The Hawks hold a 3-1 aggregate lead in the two-legged Mainland playoff after goals from Dan Ede, Alex Young and Jackson Hughes secured victory in the first leg.
The second leg will be played at Nelson’s Guppy Park home ground on Saturday, kicking off at noon.
A win, draw or one-goal loss would see Halswell progress to the South Island playoff against Dunedin champions Northern AFC over two legs, with the winner earning promotion to next year’s Southern League.
If Halswell lose by two goals, the tie will be decided by penalties. Any bigger margin would see Nelson progress.
“We’ve seen a bit of the reaction from Nelson’s social page and they’re gonna be up for it,” he said.
“They know they’re going to have to chase the game, but at home, it’s the perfect place for them to do that.”
Halswell’s squad will drive up on Friday afternoon and stay the night in Nelson before returning on Saturday afternoon.
Hawkins said travelling that far for a game would be new territory for the squad, with few players having experienced a trip like that before.
“We’ll just put it all out there. Our preparation’s been as tight as it has been all season.
“We’ve really been on the boys about the mentality - not taking games lightly and just being hard to beat.”
He said Saturday’s win was the perfect way to farewell the club’s Halswell Domain home ground, which will be in use for the cricket season if the team progresses to a playoff against Northern.
“It was a great way to finish on a high for the club and the fans who watch – we had a good turnout which was awesome,” Hawkins said.
