Garlett first signed with Albury in March last year, but the season was written off by COVID-19.

He's in the process of finishing his first full pre-season with the Tigers and was quizzed if a player had been a standout at training.

"To be honest, I've been surprised by the whole squad, everyone's doing an amazing job, especially with COVID," he praised.

"Everyone's come back fit, which is a hard thing to do with COVID, you can let it drift away but everyone's done an amazing job to come back fit from day one."

The O and M's professionalism, which has traditionally seen some clubs training three times a week over summer, often takes first-year players by surprise.

The 31-year-old, who played 185 games over an 11-year career at Carlton and Melbourne, will provide on-field 'smarts' and leadership, but he's hoping the league's most successful club of all time can provide him with a first open-age premiership.

Garlett has claimed a WAFL Colts (then under 19s) flag with Swan Districts.

"Everyone wants to win a premiership, no matter what level you play," he explained.

"I've still got plenty to give, hopefully I can pass my experience on to the younger guys and help them develop and the older guys as well, we're still learning stuff."

The Tigers had the greatest number of veterans in the last competition of 2019 and while two have moved on in Joel Mackie (Osborne) and Chris Hyde (retired), there's still a host of 30-plus stars, including Brayden O'Hara and Dean Polo.

The Tigers' Victorian-equalling record run of 10 successive grand finals was halted by Myrtleford in the first semi-final.

Along with Garlett and fellow former AFL player Anthony Miles (co-coach with Luke Daly), there's a handful of others set to tackle the O and M in Griffith brothers Jacob and Lucas Conlan, along with the inaugural winner of the best on ground in the AFL Riverina Championship grand final in Shaun Driscoll.

It will be more of a new-look Tigers than the batch of regulars who helped the club dominant the league for a decade, with Garlett's tackling with that closing speed and goal sense, consistently nailing shots on the outside of his foot, the most eagerly anticipated highlight.

"I still have enough speed to get going, I'm really looking forward to it," he offered.

Albury will play three practice matches.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The Tigers will host Eastern Football League outfit Norwood on February 27, followed by an away match against Queanbeyan and round out the campaign back at home against Tatura.

Albury will also host the first competition game against Yarrawonga on March 27.