While many are writing the Pigeons off after the departures of Brendan Fevola and Kayne Pettifer, Lawless said Yarrawonga was well-placed to stop the Tigers collecting their sixth flag in eight years.

Yarrawonga dropped to third last season after playing in the previous six grand finals but Lawless said the return of premiership stars Brad O’Connor, Marcus McMillan, Richard Handreck and Luke Ednie along with the recruitment of Rhys O’Sullivan and Damon Symes had the Pigeons primed for success.

Lawless, who played in the Pigeons’ 2012-13 premierships, returns to J.C. Lowe Oval after a flag-winning season with Tungamah in the Picola league.

Albury has strengthened its list considerably in the off-season with Morris medallist Shaun Daly returning as co-coach and former Fremantle forward and Benalla premiership star Josh Mellington signing a three-year deal.

Former Tigers junior and AFL star Daniel Cross will play at least six matches when free of running commitments with Melbourne.

The Pigeons won’t get a true test of their premiership credentials until they meet Albury in round 9 – a week after playing grand finalist Lavington.

Despite losing 547 goals of Ovens and Murray experience in Fevola (357) and Pettifer (190), Lawless is confident the Pigeons will be a force to be reckoned with in 2016.

“If you weren’t expecting to beat (Albury), there’s no point playing,” he said.

“I’ll be going out, and I think the rest of the boys will, expecting to win.

“I don’t see why we can’t beat them and I don’t see why we can’t go the whole way.

“We’ve done it before, and if everyone buys in and we become a competitive unit, we’ll be pretty hard to stop, I think.”

The Pigeons will put their new-look squad to the test against Goulburn Valley premiers Benalla at J.C. Lowe Oval on Saturday.

The match will mark Chris Kennedy’s return to the coaching hot seat following Fevola’s departure.

Yarrawonga opens the season against Wangaratta Rovers on Easter Sunday, March 27.

The Pigeons will raise money for charity and play for the Ricky Bannister Cup on Saturday, March 12, when they take on Therry Penola at their home ground.