Brooks was a much-loved figure and long-term administrator of the Woden-Weston FC club, and Panthers coach Graeme Plath expects the significance of the shield, alongside the tenacity of a solid first grade outfit to push his squad to the limit.

"They [Woden] are a cohesive unit, they play for each other and they demonstrate an enormous amount of heart," Plath said.

"They haven't won many games, but each of their losses have been credible and they haven't lost by many goals, so I am expecting them to give it a very tough game for a full 90 minutes."

Monaro is currently sitting one spot above Woden in 8th position on the National Premier League ladder, and Plath describes his squad as a young yet promising outfit, not yet aware of their limitations. Despite the relative inexperience of the squad, the team has posted impressive results, upsetting Canberra Olympic in round nine and remaining solid in its forward line.

"We have scored ten goals in the last five games, against some pretty good defences," Plath said.

"People like Darian McGarry-Watson on the left wing, Ed McCarthy, and Martin Deng - they have been our three forwards for the last five or six games and they have done admirably up there."

The youthful Panthers line up will also be bolstered for its duel with Woden-Weston with the return of Irish import Alan Murphy.

"Alan's been out for the last five or six games with hamstring and groin injuries," Plath said.

"But he will be returning this weekend and we expect him to give us a lot of stability in the midfield."

The John Brooks Shield will be contested by the Monaro Panthers and Woden-Weston FC on Saturday, July 2, at Duncan Fields, Googong. The games commence from 10am when the NPL13 squads take the pitch, followed by NPL18 at 11am, NPL14 at 11.45am, NPL20 at 1pm, NPL16 at 1.20pm, and first grade NPL at 3pm.