BELLA Eddey insists she isn't Darren Crocker's favourite player.

But all the talk around Arden Street is that the small forward and midfielder is the coach’s pet.

"It's a bit of a running joke that I'm Croc's favourite," Eddey said.

"I like to deny that. That's all just lies spun by the girls."

The two live in the south east of Melbourne and regularly carpool to the airport during the season.

They also arrived at North Melbourne's women's program at the same time.

Eddey was drafted from the Sandringham Dragons with the Kangaroos' first pick, No.13 in the 2020 AFL Women's draft.

This was also the first season Crocker took over as head coach from Scott Gowans.

"I'm the very first person that he [Crocker] drafted," said Eddey.

"We actually spoke about it the other day. It was quite cute. Talking about how, like, we've obviously been together at the club since day one."

And since day one, Eddey has been a mainstay in the team's line up.

The now 23-year-old has played an impressive 72 games, is the youngest member of the team’s leadership group and has a premiership next to her name.

In season 10, Eddey’s sixth, the talented small with silky skills has found herself playing a new role.

A knee injury to key midfielder Mia King has meant Eddey has moved into one of, if not the best midfields in the competition.

"It's something that I've been talking to the club about over the years, the progression to play mid," Eddey said.

"Obviously I'm not gonna go in there and play over Ash [Riddell] and Jas [Garner] and Mia [King] - they're superstars.

"But Mia's injury did open up an opportunity for me, and it was really nice that the club trusted me and asked me to step into that midfield role full-time."

Since moving into the middle in round 10, Eddey has averaged 16 disposals at 66 per cent disposal efficiency.

Her seamless transition into North's midfield has meant that the move has gone under the radar.

"I think there are a lot of players who fly under the radar, to be honest, at our club.

"The big names that get mentioned absolutely deserve it, because they're stars, but the reason why we’ve been so successful is our depth."

Lining up at the centre bounce alongside two of the league's best players in Garner and Riddell is something that hasn't been lost on Eddey

"I walk out and I look left and right. I've got Ash Riddell on one side, Jas Garner on the other," she said.

"I pinch myself a little bit that I'm playing in the midfield in this team with these players. To see how they operate up close, it's been awesome. 

"When you're in the forward line you're just focused on what you're doing down there and other forwards, but being in the middle, I was like, 'wow'. Seeing Ash Riddell's work rate, it's insane and the way Jasmine goes about it as well.

"Ruby Tripodi too. She's been a younger head that I've been able to lean on and has been great at supporting me, so I'm really grateful for that."

This weekend the Kangaroos play Melbourne in a must-win preliminary final on Saturday afternoon.

The two sides haven’t met this year, but have great respect for each other, finishing first and second on the ladder at the end of the regular season.

"We haven't played Melbourne this year, which I think just makes for a really exciting game," said Eddey.

"You've got two teams who have been the best so far in the year, and we're going to face off in a prelim for the first time.

"It definitely makes you a little nervous knowing that you don't have that reference point from earlier in the year, and I'm sure they're feeling the same way."

One of the most exciting features of the game will be the potential match-up of the two captains Jasmine Garner and Kate Hore, both who are in exceptional form.

In last week’s semi-final Hore became the first AFLW player to have over 25 disposals and kick three goals in a finals match.

Eddey and her teammates, along with coach Crocker, went along to the game and watched from the stands.

"A big group of us actually went to the game," said Eddey.

"She's [Hore] obviously in absolutely amazing form. What she was able to do last week. We were all sitting in the stands, watching her performance and thinking she's so good.

"But I don't think anyone's scared. We’re just going to embrace the opportunity of going up against one of the best players in the competition.

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"And then I look at our team. You know, we've got Jassy and Ash. I think it'll just be a really great battle to watch that unfold. You've got some of the game's greatest players going head-to-head.

"We're not really a team who does match-ups, so we'll just learn on our system. We know we trust our game plan, what we're trying to do."

The system that Crocker has put together.

When you ask Eddey about her coach, you feel the admiration is mutual.

"I've never met someone who loves football, loves coaching us as much as Croc," Eddey said.

"He just loves it. He's out doing extras with the girls, he takes kids for one-on-one sessions in his spare time. He just loves football and that passion when you've got a coach like that, it just rubs off on everyone.

"He really cares about us. You know he's got your best interests at heart and he makes it a really fun, fun environment as well. Honestly, I could go on and on and on about him for days about how good he is and what he's done for us.

"He's like our dad. That's what everyone says. We go to the footy club and we have our footy club dad in Croc and we go home and then we have our real dads."

You get the feeling Crocker might be Eddey's favourite as well.