Joseph Patrick Mellor (born 28 November 1990) is an English professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who plays as a or for the

Salford Red Devils The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, England. They play home games at Salford Community Stadium in Barton upon Irwell and compete in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugb ...

in the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

. He previously played for the

Wigan Warriors The Wigan Warriors is an English professional rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club competes in the Super League, the top tier of the British rugby league system. Formed in 1872, the club is a founding member of the Ru ...

in the

, and on loan from

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

at Harlequins RL in the top flight and the

Widnes Vikings The Widnes Vikings are an English rugby league club in Widnes, Cheshire, which competes in the RFL Championship, Betfred Championship. The club plays home matches at DCBL Stadium. Founded as Widnes Football Club, they are one of the original twe ...

in the

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

and the Super League. Mellor later joined

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

on a permanent deal in the Super League. He also played for the

Toronto Wolfpack Toronto Wolfpack RLFC is a Canadian professional rugby league club based in Toronto, Ontario. The club is the first and only professional rugby league club in North America, and as of 2023 competes in the self sponsored Canada Cup, an invitation ...

in the

and the top flight.

Background

Mellor was born in

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

Cheshire, England Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shropshire to the south; to the west ...

Club career

Wigan Warriors

Mellor signed as a professional for Wigan from

-based amateur side Latchford. In 2009, Mellor was awarded Man-of-the-Match in the Reserve Grand Final following a fantastic performance. An injury-plagued 2010 meant limited appearances in Wigan's junior teams, however, he did play in the Under-20 Cup Final win over St Helens.

Harlequins RL (loan)

He made his Super League début in rugby league whilst on loan at Harlequins in 2011's

Super League XVI The Engage Super League XVI was the official name for the 2011 Super League season. Fourteen teams competed over 27 rounds, after which the highest finishing teams entered the play-offs to compete for a place in the Grand Final and a chance to win ...

, coming off the bench in a 27-16 win over St. Helens in round five.

Widnes Vikings

On his return to Wigan, Mellor was sent on loan to Widnes along with

Dom Crosby Dominic Crosby is a former rugby league footballer who last played as a for the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. He played for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, and on loan from Wigan Warriors, Wigan at the Widnes Vikings and the Leigh ...

and Logan Tomkins. Mellor featured at stand-off for the Chemics, scoring tries in the home fixtures against Barrow and

Toulouse Olympique Toulouse Olympique or TO XIII is a professional rugby league club in Toulouse, south-west France. Founded in 1937, two years after the French Rugby League Federation, the club is a six-time winner of the French Rugby League Championship. The clu ...

, and a brace away at Barrow. Mellor was once again loaned to Widnes in 2012, and joined the club on a permanent contract after being released by Wigan at the end of 2012. After the departure of captain Kevin Brown to the

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

at the end of 2016, Mellor was handed co-captaincy alongside Chris Houston, and has been given the number 6 jersey.

Leigh

On 10 November 2020, it was announced that Mellor would join

Leigh Leigh may refer to: Places In England Pronounced : * Leigh, Greater Manchester, Borough of Wigan ** Leigh (UK Parliament constituency) * Leigh-on-Sea, Essex Pronounced : * Leigh, Dorset * Leigh, Gloucestershire * Leigh, Kent * Leigh, Staffor ...

for the

2021 Super League season Super League XXVI, known as the 2021 Betfred Super League XXVI for sponsorship reasons, was the 26th season of the Super League and 127th season of rugby league in Great Britain. The 2021 season was originally scheduled to begin on 11 March 2021 ...

. On 28 May 2022, Mellor played for Leigh in their

2022 RFL 1895 Cup The 2022 RFL 1895 Cup, known as the 2022 AB Sundecks 1895 Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the third playing of the RFL 1895 Cup, a rugby league football competition for clubs in the United Kingdom. The competition is for clubs who play below the ...

final victory over

Featherstone Featherstone is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, two miles south-west of Pontefract. Historic counties of England, Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 2011 ...

. On 3 October 2022, Mellor played for Leigh in their

Million Pound Game Million Pound Game (stylized as £1M Game) was an annual rugby league game that decides which Championship teams will be promoted to Super League, and which Super League teams would be relegated for the following season. Instituted in 2015 and ...

victory over

Batley Batley is a market town in the Kirklees district, in West Yorkshire, England, south-west of Leeds, north-west of Wakefield and Dewsbury, south-east of Bradford and north-east of Huddersfield, in the Heavy Woollen District. In 2011, the popu ...

which saw the club promoted back to the

. On 12 August 2023, Mellor played for Leigh in their 2023 Challenge Cup final victory over Hull Kingston Rovers. It was Leigh's first major trophy for 52 years. Mellor played 23 games for Leigh in the 2023 Super League season as the club finished fifth on the table and qualified for the playoffs. He played in their elimination playoff loss against Hull Kington Rovers.

Salford Red Devils

On 15 Dec 2023 it was reported that he had signed for

in the

on a 2-year deal.

References

External links

Toronto Wolfpack profileWidnes Vikings profileSL profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mellor, Joe 1990 births Living people English rugby league players English expatriate rugby league players English expatriate sportspeople in Canada Expatriate rugby league players in Canada Leigh Leopards players London Broncos players Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Warrington Salford Red Devils players Toronto Wolfpack players 21st-century English sportsmen Widnes Vikings players Wigan Warriors players