LEIGH Centurions have signed another member of the Toronto Wolfpack squad.

Scrum half Joe Mellor, who previously played at Widnes Vikings, joins fellow Wolfpack members Matty Russell and Blake Wallace at Leigh Sports Village.

He becomes another member of the illustrious list of fathers and sons who have played for Leigh.

The 29-year-old, who has 137 Super League games under his belt, came through the ranks at Wigan Warriors before making his mark in a seven-season stint at Widnes Vikings between 2012 and 2018.

Joe’s father Sean is a former Leigh winger, who earned #HN904 during a spell with the Club in the 1980s.

Mellor said: “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.

“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.

"I’ve also known people like Iain Thornley for a long time having come through with him at Wigan Warriors.”

Leigh Centurions Head Coach John Duffy is excited to have Mellor onboard for the new season.

He said: “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.”

Born in Warrington and a product of the famous Latchford Albion community club, Mellor graduated through the ranks at Wigan Warriors, though actually made his Super League debut on loan for Harlequins in 2011.

Playing alongside former and future Leigh favourite Oliver Wilkes, he starred in a memorable 27-16 win over St Helens.

The following week he made his first team bow for Wigan in a victory against Huddersfield Giants but would spend much of the next two years on loan at Widnes Vikings.

After making the move to Widnes a permanent one, Mellor went on to score 66 tries in 177 games for the Vikings, establishing himself as a key player, famed for his organisational and attacking game. For a time, he was Widnes co-captain alongside Chris Houston.

Mellor linked up with Toronto in 2019 and scored a crucial 70th minute try in their defining victory over Featherstone Rovers that clinched their promotion to Super League.