MELBOURNE has made a late change for its Round 1 clash with Port Adelaide, as youngster Tom Sparrow has been called upon to debut.

The 18-year-old will be taking to the MCG in place of Jordan Lewis who has been withdrawn due to a hamstring injury.

Lewis pulled up sore after training on Friday and the club has decided to be cautious and leave him out of the side.

While the severity of the 32-year-old’s injury is unknown at this stage, it creates an exciting opportunity for Melbourne to reward another new face in Sparrow for his hard work over the summer.

Sparrow has developed quickly over the off-season after the Demons used their first selection in the 2018 National Draft to take him with pick No.27.

The versatile midfielder will be running out alongside Marty Hore as the pair play their first AFL game’s together.

Corey Wagner is also set to pull on the red and blue colours for the first time after being recruited from the Casey Demons, but he has eight games of AFL experience with the Kangaroos.

Melbourne’s first game of the 2019 season kicks off at 1:45pm.