Leigh have confirmed the signing of a third Toronto player, in the shape of experienced halfback Joe Mellor.
The 29-year-old joins teammates Blake Wallace and Matty Russell in joining the Centurions, who are assembling a strong squad ahead of 2021.
Mellor brings over 200 games of professional experience in spells with Wigan, Widnes, London and the Wolfpack and will compete with Wallace and fellow new signings Jamie Ellis and Ryan Brierley for a spot in John Duffy’s halves.
“I was really impressed when I sat down with John Duffy to talk about the new season and the plans he had for next year,” said Mellor. “Obviously it’s not been the best of years for anyone but it’s been even worse for the Toronto lads.
“It’s good to start looking forward to something and getting back on the field playing rugby again. It felt like the season was just taken away from us and there was nothing we could do about it.
“It’ll be good to join up with the former Toronto lads Matty Russell and Blake Wallace but I know a lot of the other players too. I played with Alex Gerrard at Widnes for a long spell and have spoken to him a lot about what it’s like at Leigh and he couldn’t speak highly enough about the club.”
Centurions head coach Duffy added: “It was a great feeling to get this over the line. Joe’s a player who is out and out Super League quality. I’m really looking forward to working with him on the training field.
“He’s racked up a lot of games in a short time and there’s something about him which really excites me. Joe has got real leadership qualities and his arrival gives us plenty of competition for places in the halves, but it’s a nice headache to have.
“We have been in conversation with Joe’s agent all along as a key part of what we want to build but respected the need to wait and see what was happening with his previous position. He was a player, along with Matty Russell, we wanted to keep our spots open for, on the off chance they became available.”
