MELBOURNE will be without defender Tahlia Gillard for the first half of the 2025 season after she sustained an injury to her knee during Saturday’s match sim.

During the game against Hawthorn at Casey Fields, Gillard left the ground in the fourth quarter with the club’s AFLW High Performance Manager Josh Keily providing an update on the Demon.

“Tahlia copped a knock to her knee and went for scans following the game. These have confirmed that she’s suffered a grade three MCL tear,” Keily said.

“She’ll get further assessed by a surgeon today and then we’ll be guided by that for her rehab program.

“Tahlia is obviously disappointed, but the team is rallying around her. She’s not really been in a longer rehab program yet so she’s keen to attack it as best she can.”

Tayla Harris was also seen leaving the ground after rolling her ankle during the final term.

“Tayla suffered a nasty ankle roll during the game,” Keily said.

“She’ll get assessed tomorrow and we’ll be guided by her pain and symptoms, but we are hopeful it’s only a two-to-four-week injury.”

Georgia Campbell and Lauren Pearce were both assessed for concussion at points throughout the game with Pearce cleared of any symptoms.

“Georgia suffered a head knock and was experiencing some symptoms. We played it safe and pulled her from the match,” Keily said.

“She has entered concussion protocols and we’ll be guided by her symptoms.

“Lauren also suffered a knock to the head but hers ended up being more related to neck symptoms, so she was cleared of concussion and trained successfully yesterday.”

Denby Taylor is eyeing off a return by Round 1 as she works through a stress reaction to her foot.

“Denby’s been going well and has started getting involved in practice scenarios at training,” Keily said.

“Towards the end of last week, she did experience some mild symptoms so that’s set her back a little bit. We’ll progress slowly with her, but she is looking likely to be available for Round 1.”

In positive news, Blaithin Mackin has returned to Melbourne from Ireland and is progressing well through a hamstring injury.

“Blaithin came back after suffering hamstring injuries during the Gaelic season,” Keily said.

“Her testing went really well when she first arrived, she’s hit decent speed and ticked off some good hamstring strength, so she’s tracking really well.”

Gab Colvin (knee), Grace Beasley (knee) and Jacinta Hose (back) are all continuing to work through their respective rehab programs.