Unexpectedly, Car Crash Killed A Prolific Star Causing…..
Leigh Leopards have confirmed that Joe Mellor has been released from his contract in order to join fellow Betfred Super League club Salford Red Devils.
Mellor, who turned 33 this month, has been a standout player for the team and has made a significant contribution to some of the biggest victories in Leigh’s lengthy history during the last three seasons.
“Joe has been an exemplary professional on and off the field and leaves with our thanks and best wishes,” said Chris Chester, head of rugby at Leopards. We would have been delighted to keep Joe in the Super League for an additional season, but at this point in his career, he believed that a longer-term contract from Salford provided him with the stability he was seeking.
“Joe served as our co-captain in the 2022 season, which saw us win the Championship League Leaders Shield, the AB Sundecks 1895 Cup, and the Grand Final against the Batley Bulldogs. He was a major factor in the team’s victory in the Challenge Cup and their placement in the top half of the Super League last season.
“Joe is a great guy, a very talented and versatile professional and is popular around the club and we all wish him well at Salford.”
Mellor spent eight seasons building his reputation with the Widnes Vikings after rising through the ranks at Wigan Warriors, where he played rugby for 13 seasons with the first team. He joined the then-Centurions as they successfully bid to take up the open spot in the elite competition after playing for the Toronto Wolfpack until their demise.
Earning club heritage number HN#1507 he followed in the footsteps of his father Sean (HN#904) in playing for the club. Sean made his debut during Leigh’s 1981-82 first division-winning season and played in the record-breaking 1985-86 second division title campaign, when Leigh scored over 1,000 points.
The Mellor family of father and son can therefore rightly lay claim to having jointly played in some of the Leigh club’s most memorable seasons.
Joe Mellor scored 22 tries in 71 Leigh games to leave him on the verge of a notable milestone. In 276 career games he has scored 98 tries.
He’ll probably assist in taking the place of Andy Ackers and Brodie Croft, who joined Leeds Rhinos.