Although they only managed one goal against Ovens and Murray powerhouse Albury Tigers in last week's trial, Flanagan was impressed by the application of the youngsters against bigger and more experienced opponents.

Flanagan, who has returned to the Tigers after a three year absence, said "some sh*t has been going back and forth" before the side takes on his former club Wodonga Bulldogs in Saturday's trial at Martin Park.

He insisted last week's blowout wasn't cause for concern as the Tigers look to fill holes left by the departures of Nick Ryan, Dylan Morton, Ben Kelly, Jackson Kelly, Shaun Driscoll, Tom Keogh and Jake Mascini.

"We had a pretty decent side in but we knew what we were getting into playing them," Flanigan said.

"They had a fairly strong side in as well and they're well ahead of us in their preparation. It was impressive to see some of our young blokes have a good crack, knowing what they were up against.

"We spoke about how good it is for them to watch and learn, take not note of their level of fitness and work rate. It's good for the young blokes to see that up close."

Patrick Ryan, still just 15, played strongly and Flanigan expects him to push for some senior games.

"Sam McNaughton, Tom McCullough, Patty Ryan, they played against much bigger blokes and held their own.

"If you watched the game without knowing the score, it probably wouldn't have been that bad.

"We've lost a few players but we've got some really good kids coming on with the 17s playing in the grand final, it should still be a pretty good year.

"Playing two O and M teams in the pre-season gives them a good crack at some decent footy before the season starts."

Meanwhile, Mangoplah-Cookardinia United-Eastlakes coach Jeremy Rowe was pleased with his side's first hit-out, despite being overrun late when they hosted Corowa-Rutherglen last Thursday.

"We were defeated on the scoreboard but I was very positive and heartened by the performance the guys put foward, it was a really good starting point for us," he said.

"We went in with a few general outcomes we wanted out of the game, and the guys definitely ticked those boxes."

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