NORTH Melbourne legend Glenn Archer says the Roos must hand schoolboy wrecking ball Kayne Turner a finals debut despite the return this week of five senior players.

The 75kg tackling machine is the youngest player in the AFL — eligible to play this year by just six hours — but has thrilled coaches in his three AFL games.

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The Wodonga 18-year-old has kicked seven goals in the past three weeks, gaining a reputation as one of the hardest players on the list despite arriving last year a rookie weighing just 67kg.

Against Essendon the Roos on Saturday night can welcome back Todd Goldstein, Michael Firrito, Lindsay Thomas, Luke McDonald and Levi Greenwood, but Archer says it can’t be at the expense of the Maribyrnong College VCE student.

“He’s going to be very hard to leave out — I can’t see how they leave him out,’’ Archer told the Herald Sun.

“You don’t see many kids come in at that age and play with such ferocity and be able to finish as well; he kicked four goals on the weekend.

“He’s adding something to the side and hopefully he can do it again. It he can keep attacking the ball like that, he’s going to be a great player for us for a long time.”

Turner only played nine TAC Cup games late last season as well as some Ovens and Murray senior footy for Wodonga but his fearless attack on the footy saw the Roos pluck him at pick 25 in the rookie draft.

Roos coach Brad Scott paid the 180cm flanker the ultimate compliment this year, stating: “His attack on the footy, and I mean this when I say it, is second to none.”

Collingwood’s Renee Kink famously replaced dumped forward Peter McKenna for a final in 1973 when still only 16.

Geelong schoolboy Ken Newland was only 16 when he played his first final in 1965 for the Cats.

Dustin Fletcher famously played in Essendon’s 1993 premiership side while a student at Penleigh and Essendon Grammar.

Turner’s Murray Bushrangers coach Darren Ogier said yesterday Turner had come from nowhere to make the grade at AFL level.

“Pound for pound he’s ridiculous (with his attack on the footy). He just keeps stepping up a gear,” Ogier said.

“The way he attacks it he has absolutely no fear and he just attacks with intent and then keeps going.

“His resilience is crazy for a boy of that size. I would never give advice to Brad but all I can say is he continued to step up with us when he needed to. He played in the finals and did a super job for us.”

The Roos take on Essendon in a final for the first time since losing the 2000 qualifying final by 125 points.

Archer said yesterday there was no love lost between the two rivals who took part in the Marshmellow Wars of the 1990s.

“Anyone who has played at North or barracked for North, there is one team in the competition you do hate,” he said.

“(They are in the) next suburb, they have a lot more money than us and we felt in the 1990s they always felt they were better than us so we looked forward to playing them every time, and I don’t think it’s changed that much.”