North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroos captain Emma Kearney has been ruled out of the opening round of the AFLW season.

Kearney tested positive to Covid-19 and is in isolation until midnight on Friday night.

Despite being available to play under the AFL’s health and safety protocols, Kearney and the club have decided she will sit out the Kangaroos' round 1 clash with Geelong on Saturday.

"Emma's health is our number one priority," North Melbourne's Head of Women's Football Nathan Hrovat said.

"Our medical and performance staff work to safely manage our players back into training and competition. Emma is doing well but isn't quite well enough to return this week, a decision we unconditionally support.

"When it comes to Covid-19, each individual circumstance is different which means we will see many different management strategies across the AFLW season.

"Ultimately, we have made the conservative decision and put Emma’s health first."