Heta was courted by a couple of Riverina League clubs but said there was appeal in joining the Magpies with his Albury coach Luke Daly and Brad Hibberson, who is a former Wodonga Raiders teammate.

Heta also knows TRYC midfielder Tom Yates and coach Brad Aiken, who's excited to have another tall option at their disposal.

"He'll be great for our footy club. He's a good player and a good person," Aiken said.

"He'll probably start forward but he'll rotate through the ruck. It just depends how we line up and how we match up, to be honest. We're lucky enough now we've got a few different options in the ruck with Jack Driscoll and Tom Hofert (ex-Barnawatha).

"It's probably something the club hasn't had for a long time."

Heta, 33, said he hopes to offer something on and off the field, and is more than happy to support rising star Driscoll.

"From what I gather, this young fella is going to go pretty far in terms of his football career and if I can play some type of role in helping him and any other young fellas out, with some experience that I've had, that's definitely a key," Heta said.

"I'd be kidding myself if I was going to go to a club like The Rock and just play and that's it. I want to give something back by helping out with the younger fellas and hopefully help create a winning culture.

"I understand from Brad that they haven't had a great couple of years and hopefully we can turn it around, create a winning culture and an atmosphere that people want to be a part of going forward."

Heta emerged as a Wodonga Raiders star before heading to Ballarat Football League's Bacchus Marsh in 2016. There, he shone as the league's dominant ruckman, was runner-up in the club best-and-fairest, and represented the league, before family ties took him to Albury Tigers.

The key position player is another massive in at TRYC who have also secured Brent Rose, Jayden Kotzur, and McKye Turner, among others.

Heta said he seriously considered sitting out this year but decided he was better off keeping the body ticking over.

"When our Ovens and Murray League wasn't going ahead, a few clubs called but I was pretty keen to have the year off," Heta said.

"But the more I thought about it, I thought it made a bit more sense to keep going, especially at my age. It's hard to get back up and going again if you don't."

A short, sharp season which will be wrapped up by the end of September he thinks will suit.

"Mentally I feel like I've got a fair bit to give but with the limited prep this year it's also about looking after the body and making sure I can get through a season unscathed," Heta said.

"I just want to enjoy myself. I probably haven't got a lot of footy left in me and you've just got to enjoy every year as it comes. Hopefully I can go out there, do a bit for the club, win some games, play finals and just have a bit of fun."