Joseph missed the Spirit’s 41-0 win over the Taranaki Whio last weekend.
She had been away at a New Zealand sevens camp and coach Craig Sneddon opted to rest her.
Veteran fullback Sheree Hume filled in at No 10 in her absence and St Hilda’s Collegiate year 12 pupil Charlotte Va’afusuaga slotted in at fullback for her debut.
Va’afusuaga drops to the bench this week to make room for Joseph, while Hume returns to the No 15 jersey.
Winger Oceana Campbell has been elevated to the run-on side in the only other change to the starting XV.
"The competition is pretty tight, so it is always good to get some experienced players back in those game-driving positions," Sneddon said when asked about Joseph’s return.
"Northland are going to pose a big threat. They have a pretty good side and we’ll need all the experience that we’ve got.
"They are quite a physical team, so we’ve gone with Oceana on the wing this week. She is obviously a proven performer at that level ... and we think she’ll give us that power and a point of difference."
The Spirit have started the campaign reasonably well.
They edged Tasman 34-28 in the opening game and eased past Taranaki in Oamaru.
While the scoreline suggests a strong performance, the Spirit were not as clinical as they would have liked in their last outing.
They started well, posting 26 unanswered points in the opening 20 minutes.
But they lost some pattern after that and there were a few too many missed opportunities.
"We’re pretty happy when we get it right. That first 20 against Taranaki was pretty impressive.
"We’ve just got to try and do that for longer because we know we are in a for a really good battle against Northland."
Northland have a 50-50 record. They beat North Harbour 24-7 in their opening game but fell to a 34-28 loss to Manawatu on Saturday.
Farah Palmer Cup
Whangārei , tomorrow, 5.05pm
Otago: Sheree Hume, Oceana Campbell, Cheyenne Cunningham, Keely Hill, Jamie Church, Maia Joseph, Georgia Cormick, Bella Rewiri-Wharerau, Leah Miles, Zoe Whatarau, Julia Gorinski (captain), Sammie Bean, Paige Church, Tegan Hollows, Eilis Doyle. Reserves: Hannah Lithgow, Rebekah Wairau, Pesalini Lave-Heehau, Ella Gomez, Kayley Johnson, Atawhai Hotene, Te Atawhai Campbell, Charlotte Va’afusuaga.
