MELBOURNE recruit Liv Purcell will finally make her long-awaited club debut on Monday night, returning from an ACL injury to bolster the side ahead of its crucial clash with Brisbane at Metricon Stadium.
Purcell, who sustained the injury playing for former team Geelong last February, is one of three inclusions for Melbourne as Tahlia Gillard and Sarah Lampard are also named in the side.
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Gillard, a 190cm defender, will make her AFLW debut after a standout performance in the VFLW for Casey.
Gabrielle Colvin won't travel to Queensland with a quad strain, while Alison Brown and Maggie Caris are both omitted for the road trip as the Demons aim for a third straight victory to keep their minor premiership hopes alive.
Brisbane is unchanged from Thursday night's huge win over Gold Coast and can also join Adelaide, Fremantle and North Melbourne in vying for top spot on the AFLW ladder with what would be a sixth consecutive win.
Monday, February 21
Brisbane v Melbourne at Metricon Stadium, 6.10pm AEST
BRISBANE
B: S.Campbell 20 I.Tahau 26
HB: P.Monahan 11 B.Koenen - C 3 N.Grider 10
C: O.O'Dwyer 9 E.Bates 1 S.Conway 12
HF: R.Svarc 29 T.Smith 31 G.Bodey 15
F: J.Wardlaw 30 C.Hodder 21
Foll: T.Hickie 2 A.Anderson 18 C.Svarc 25
I/C: J.Ellenger 5 L.Pullar 24 L.Yoshida-Martin 19 I.Dawes 17 Z.Farquharson 22
Emerg: M.Moloney 28 B.Smith 16
No changes
MELBOURNE
B: L.Birch 9 T.Gillard 17
HB: S.Goldrick 23 S.Lampard 8 S.Heath 30
C: L.Mithen 14 T.Hanks 5 E.McNamara 22
HF: J.Parry 19 K.Hore 10 M.Fitzsimon 24
F: D.Pearce - C 6 T.Harris 7
Foll: L.Pearce 15 K.Paxman 4 E.West 11
I/C: L.Magee 26 O.Purcell 2 E.Zanker 29 S.Scott 12 A.Bannan 16
Emerg: A.Brown 28 M.Caris 21
In: T.Gillard, S.Lampard, O.Purcell
Out: G.Colvin (Injured), A.Brown (Omitted), M.Caris (Omitted)
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