Salford Red Devils have confirmed the signing of Joe Mellor from Leigh Leopards on a two year deal from 2024.
The 33-year-old becomes the club’s eighth addition of the off-season, following the signings of Nene Macdonald, Cade Cust, Ethan Ryan, Joe Shorrocks, Matty Foster, Kai Morgan and most recently, Chris Hankinson.
Born in Warrington, Mellor came through the ranks at Wigan Warriors before enjoying two successful loan spells at Widnes Vikings.
After joining the club on a permanent basis, Mellor made 178 appearances for the Vikings, scoring 66 tries.
He signed for Leigh Leopards in 2021 and has since made 71 appearances for the club, playing a vital role in their rise from the Betfred Championship, to Challenge Cup glory in 2023.
A natural halfback, but operating at hooker during his time at the Leopards, Mellor has already joined Paul Rowley’s squad for pre-season training and will be looking to build some momentum ahead of an exciting 2024 campaign.
In reaction to joining the club, Mellor has said: “I am really happy to join Salford for the next two years and I am excited to get started, and meet the rest of the team!”
Head Coach, Paul Rowley has also said: “It is great to welcome Joe to the group.
“He is a very established player who has had a consistently positive influence on any team he represents. He is highly competitive, he holds himself to high standards and will add greatly to an already excellent group of lads at Salford.
“Kurt and Kris have both worked alongside Joe before and have fully re-enforced all the above qualities.”
Director of Rugby and Operations, Ian Blease has added: “Joe is another great addition to our 2024 squad.
“Joe is a player we have admired for some time. Similar to Chris Hankinson, our coaches know Joe well and what he can bring to our club.
“I am really pleased Joe has chosen to join Salford and I am looking forward to seeing him in the Red Devils shirt this season.”
A great signing for the Red Devils but what does this mean for Leigh? This likely points to Mellor being unneeded at Leigh moving forward pointing to the arrival of Tristan Sailor. He will likely be the club’s fullback and taking the number one shirt.
Gareth O’Brien could therefore become more of a utility player with Matt Moylan at stand-off. Mellor’s departure could also be to free up cap space with Leigh likely to resolve the visa issue that is the only barrier to the arrival of Sailor.
