A top three side last year, the Magpies head into the season hoping to be a genuine premiership contender. But they'll look vulnerable on paper against the Two Blues, with a long list of absentees headed by 2021 best-and-fairest Dean Biermann.

The key forward and midfielder Joe Hancock are unavailable for the first round. Shannon Williams, Cameron Terlich, Michael Cummins and Jordan Kemp are all at a wedding while Jesse Cool is nursing a shoulder injury.

New signing Liam Lupton is also in doubt as he recovers from a non-football injury but captain Mitch Stephenson is expected back from a broken hand earlier than feared.

"We've got to have the mentality that if we want to be one of the top teams, we've got to back our depth in. To be successful it's got to be one-in, one-out... that whole mantra," TRYC co-coach Heath Russell said.

"So we'll be going over there just as confident. We know the boys have put in the week and the guys who'll be there have had big pre-seasons.

"There'll be no excuses from us. Every team is going to face it at some stage and we're not going to make excuses."

Offsetting the issue at least a little is the 'Pies becoming the latest team to announce late additions.

Former Collingullie-Glenfield Park and Culcairn utility James Demby and Goulburn midfielder Dale Cummins, a three-time league medallist in Canberra's lower division, have joined TRYC and will play on Saturday.

"They're two guys who weren't going to play footy this year but were keen to come and have a run with us," Russell said.

"It's another two travellers, which is not ideal, but they kind of fell into our laps and the (playing group is) supportive of it."

Demby, who has been playing armed forces representative football in the last month, is based in Sydney but will be in Wagga regularly so was keen to reunite with the Cool brothers and co-coach Brad Aiken.

Cummins hasn't played for two years but after helping out TRYC in a pre-season win against Canberra club Tuggeranong decided he wanted to return to footy under his old Goulburn coach Russell.

New TRYC key forward James Roberts will make his club debut at Barellan while returned 'Pie Ted Fellows offers a second target in their forward line.

Cody Cool has been handed the ruck duties for the season, after last year being tasked with a number of different roles throughout the season.

"We're not expecting him to be the premier ruckman in terms of hit outs but he's quite athletic and will compete... but where we see Cody benefitting us is that he becomes a fourth midfielder, and we hope we get a bit more run-and-carry from him and possessions around the ground," Russell said.

Russell said they're very wary of Barellan, who have bolstered their side with the addition of the Irvin brothers as well as Dean Schmetzer.

"We know they'll be fired up for round one, at home in front of their crowd. And I know 'Alba' (coach Alex Lawder) personally, I know he'll have them well drilled and we've been working on how we expect them to move the footy," Russell said.

"We're going over there knowing it's going to be a battle. We expect them to be confident and they have their own team goals they want to achieve."

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