INS – Colvin, Gay
OUTS – Harris (inj.), Chaplin (omitted)
MELBOURNE’S Gab Colvin will play her first official AFLW match since season six, named in the final 21 to take on Geelong.
Colvin ruptured her ACL during June of 2022 and has spent the past 15 months working hard through a gruelling rehab schedule to get back to her best.
She most recently took part in the club’s pre-season hit-outs and has impressed on the training track during match-sims. The powerful defender will add another layer of strength to the team’s already bolstered backline.
Maddi Gay will join Colvin in returning to the 21, following a week on the sidelines with general soreness.
Thursday’s match will mark a special moment in Gay’s career, with the 27-year-old set to celebrate her 50th AFLW game.
First joining the league via the rookie draft in 2017, Gay played seven games at Carlton before making her way to Melbourne in 2019.
She quickly become an integral member of the Demons’ line-up and has spent the past five years playing a number of important roles, including the most significant one of her career – a defender in the season seven premiership side.
Tayla Harris has been ruled out of the Thursday match, with GM of Football Operations and AFLW Marcus Wagner providing an update on the forward.
“Tayla had some hamstring awareness towards the end of Tuesday night’s training session and scans have shown a very minor strain,” Wagner said.
“While this will unfortunately rule her out of Thursday night’s game against Geelong, we are optimistic that Tayla will be available to play in Round 6.
“We will continue to monitor Tayla and see how she responds to training over the coming week.”
Maeve Chaplin has been omitted from the starting side but will join Megan Fitzsimon and Jordan Ivey on the emergency list.
The Round 5 game will be the first played between Melbourne and Geelong in the history of the AFLW, with the Dees travelling down the highway for the momentous match.
The first bounce at GMHBA Stadium will take place at 6:15pm, with tickets still available here.
Check out Melbourne’s full line-up below.
