SAHARA Elfar is the fresh-faced teenager expected to provide most of the drive through the midfield for Port Macquarie in Saturday's AFL North Coast women's grand final against Sawtell.
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While the 16-year-old is not only the youngest player in the Magpies team, but the entire competition, her work on the other side of the footy is what impresses coach Mel Hunt.
She should be right in the middle of things come the time of the first bounce at 11.40am at C.Ex Coffs International Sports Stadium.
"She just loves her footy," Hunt said.
"She constantly surprises the rest of the team with the quality of her tackles."
Elfar played in the youth competition and when it fell by the wayside in 2019, the Magpies had to request AFL North Coast for an exemption which allowed her to play in the seniors.
"I really wanted to play so I asked Mel and she allowed me to play up and it's been the best decision I've made all season," Elfar said.
The midfielder admitted it did take some time to get used to the physical nature of playing against fully-grown adults.
But once she became accustomed to it, she hasn't looked back.
"It's a bit shocking because you're playing with people who are double your age, double your size, double your height and you just have to do it," she said.
"I played two years in the younger age group and tried out for state and everything so I knew what I was getting myself into."
Her first grand final appearance for the Magpies promises to be a nailbiter with most pundits expecting it to be the best match on grand final day.
The results throughout the season back that theory up.
In the last clash between the two sides, Sawtell held on to defeat Port Macquarie by a point while they played out a draw in the opening round of the season.
The Pies registered a seven-point and a 16-point victory in the other two matches in 2019.
"Sawtell are really aggressive so you've got to get the upper hand and the first tackle has to be hard so you make sure they don't catch the ball and go for a run," Elfar said.
"You want to play as hard as everyone else so you have to step up which is really good."
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