Budding superstar makes her way from Ireland to the SANFLW in less than a year

Less than 12 months ago Meg Ryan was an NDIS support worker and gym manager in Broken Hill.

The 26-year-old from Ireland had never handled a Sherrin, let alone set foot on an AFL field.

Fast-forward a season and she's an emerging midfielder in North Adelaide's SANFLW side.

«We've barely scratched the surface of her talent,» said head coach, Krissie Steen.

Since joining the team a couple of months ago, «Mego Lego» as Steen and her teammates call her, has improved out of sight with her skills and fitness.

«She's tall but she's strong and she's agile. She's really got something,» said Steen.

But not only this, she's come out of her shell as well — and become one of the team's most beloved team players.

«Her first session, she was very quiet ... It's like there's a completely different person now because she's loud and hilarious, and a bundle of energy and she's absolutely adored,» she said. «I can't compare [playing in Broken Hill to the SANFLW] ... it's actually 45 steps up here,» Ryan said.

Ryan spent last winter playing for South Broken Hill, in the local women's league in far western New South Wales, before being spotted at the SA Country Champs, playing for the Northern zone.

«They approached me after the final and asked me if I'd be interested in playing with North Adelaide… and at the time I didn't really take any notice of it.

»They rang again maybe a month later … and I said, 'Yeah, why not'. I just made the move down to Adelaide ... and here I am now," she said.

Despite catching COVID and missing the first two rounds of the season, Ryan's aggressive playing style makes her one to watch moving forward.

The Irishwoman acknowledged she's certainly got white-line fever.

«One of the coaches said that too me yesterday, he said,