Michael Driscoll (Wodonga), Sam Stening (Collingullie-Ashmont-Kapooka) and Hayden Armstrong (Ainslie) have all departed the Tigers, who are yet to add fresh blood to the side which finished 2021 as Hume league minor premiers.

"We're still really happy," Mackie insisted.

"We've lost three quality players but the positive for us is that we used 36 players last year (and still won every game).

"We had injuries to key players throughout the year so very rarely did we play what we felt was our strongest team. Our kids always seemed to stand up and filled that void really well for us.

"The club has plenty of depth there, which is why we haven't had to go hard, recruiting-wise. We'll just replace the players we've lost from within and give some more kids an opportunity.

ALSO IN SPORT:

"For us to use 36 players and play the way we did was pleasing. If something pops up, we'll definitely look at it but we haven't had much in the pipeline, to be honest."

Mackie is excited to see how Eddie O'Connell, Ethan Weidemann and Royce Hunter develop with another year of senior football under their belts, while Osborne should have imposing teenager Nick Madden available during the second half of the season when his GWS Giants commitments allow.

"There's a great pool of talent there for us but we'll still entertain anything," Mackie said.

"The club likes to bring a player in when it can, just to keep the group refreshed.

"You like to make sure you're always looking ahead to the next year and the next year and it's a different place out at Osborne where you've got to factor in the travel as well.

"It's a little bit out of the way but it's unique in the sense that if they continually keep their playing list at a good level and keep bringing good players in, people want to stay around the place.

"It's a balancing act and we won't close our door on recruiting.

"If something does pop up, there might be one or two chances of a couple of Wagga people coming up, depending on what they want to do, but apart from that, there's no player out of Albury or Canberra that we could recruit, I don't feel."

Osborne started pre-season training last week after an extended break.

"We were having a really good year and for it to get taken away like it was, that's when I thought we should give the boys a good break," Mackie said.

"You've got to be mindful of player burnout and where they're at.

"Are they going to come back again this year, how are they feeling and can they be bothered?"

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: