MELBOURNE coach Mick Stinear has confirmed that Tayla Harris will play in the side's week one clash with Geelong, having overcome a quad concern.

Harris battled a shoulder injury earlier in the preseason, following surgery, and picked up the quad complaint upon returning from four days in Paris on a female athlete junket with Nike.

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"She'll play this week," Stinear said.

"She has had some injury interruptions … she had surgery in December so she's been training since January trying to rehab and, I guess, with shoulders you can do a lot of kicking work and she has put a lot of time into her fundamentals."

What the injury interruptions have meant, however, is a delayed start to her positional shift to defence, which was slated by AFL.com.au in July.

"Probably haven't had a lot of time to gel as a defensive unit with Tayla down back and it's a balance to be had, we try to stop the Cats from scoring but give ourselves opportunity to score," Stinear said.

"So, I think you can expect to see her at both ends of the ground, but potentially starting forward as well."

Melbourne fans can also expect to see some new players in the red and blue on Saturday, but announcements on who they might be will be made after fitness tests later in the day.

Grace Beasley will likely play her first game if she can overcome a shoulder injury in time, with her power through the midfield crucial given Olivia Purcell's absence.

"Someone like Grace Beasley, who's played as a junior, returned back home after a college basketball stint, enormous amount of strength and power and just plays with great instinct," Stinear said.

Irishwoman Sinead Goldrick is also set for more minutes through the midfield, while her countrywoman Blaithin Mackin will make the wing her home this year.