Keogh was deservedly named Coach of the Year last season after leading the Demons to eighth spot after the club went perilously close to folding the previous year.

After enduring a winless season in 2022, the Demons were firmly in the hunt to play finals last year until injuries and unavailability took a toll over the last month.

But after keeping departures to a minimum and landing several key signings including Jordy Harrington, Pat Killalea and Brad Aylett, Wooden feels finals is a realistic goal this season.

"We have signed Jordy Harrington (DMB), Pat Killalea (MCUE) and Brad Aylett (Jerilderie)," Wooden said.

"We tend to get a few players from the RAAF as well.

"So I reckon we could end up with as many as seven or eight recruits before round one.

"I feel we have covered a few holes that we had last year and added a bit of depth.

"Finals are on the radar and we feel that is a realistic goal for sure.

"But with quite a few clubs improving their list, they no doubt have the same opinion."

Osborne and Holbrook have both dominated the competition over the past two seasons and met in the grand final.

However, with several rival clubs recruiting strongly over the off-season, the competition is set to be one of the most open for more than a decade.

"We are shaping up really well... I don't think we could have had a much better off-season to be honest," Wooden said.

"We are flying under the radar as well, which suits us fine.

"So we'll just have to see what happens, there have been some fairly big moves at other clubs over the off-season.

"It's going to be an interesting competition.

"Especially CDHBU and how they go, they seem to be picking up blokes left, right and centre and from what I'm hearing should be more than handy players in the Hume league.

"I know a few of them should dominate after previously playing O&M but you don't know until you come up against them and how serious they are about the Hume league.

"You would think Osborne won't be as dominant as they have been recently considering their departures.

"So if Osborne are on the slide you can imagine a few sides will be having a genuine tilt at winning the flag.

"You would think Holbrook are a top-three side again but I'm not sure if they will be as strong as the past two seasons considering their departures and getting a couple of recruits from Dederang."

Wooden admitted he was surprised to win the Azzi medal last year and upset raging favourite Connor Galvin from Osborne for the league's highest individual honour.

His older brother, Josh, played 96-matches for West Coast Eagles after making his AFL debut in 1997.

"I thought I had a solid season but I was taken aback a bit when I actually won it," he said.

"I didn't receive the invite to attend the count until a couple of days before because our president nearly forgot to tell me.

"So I nearly didn't show up.

"But it ended up being a big night for the club.

"Tommy (Keogh) won Coach of the Year which was huge and gives the club something to spruik about I guess."

Wooden said Keogh had been 'a breath of fresh air' since arriving at the club from MCUE and didn't get the recognition he deserved and being able to fast-track the club's rebuild.

"Especially considering the position we were in 12-months ago and it just shows people the club is going in the right direction," Wooden said.

"We were in finals contention last year until the last couple of rounds and then had a few blokes that were unavailable which really hurt and we dropped away fairly quickly after that.

"The previous year we weren't even close to winning a game.

"Internally I don't think we were as shocked at how much we improved last year compared to external expectations.

"Two years ago we had a young side but the talent was there and once we added a bit more experience, we improved sharply.

"Tom is an innovative coach and is attacking with his game plan.

"He has completely changed the culture of the club and it's hard to explain but he is what I would call a modern day coach compared to an old school coach.

"He is open to new ideas and has been a breath of fresh air."