Alex Mellor

Alex Mellor (born 24 September 1994) is an English professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward or for and captains the Castleford Tigers in the Super League.

He has previously played for Bradford Bulls in the Super League and the Championship, and for Huddersfield Giants and Leeds Rhinos in the Super League.

Background Mellor was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. Mellor is a talented cricketer and represented Yorkshire schoolboys until age 15, when rugby league became his chosen career.

Playing career

Bradford Bulls Mellor had been involved in the Bradford Bulls scholarship system from under-15s.

In the 2013 season, he featured in round 20 Warrington and round 27 against Huddersfield.

In the 2014 season, Mellor featured in the pre-season game against Hull FC. He featured in round 10 Wigan to round 13 Huddersfield then in round 21 against Huddersfield to round 23 Leeds. He played in round 27 London Broncos. He signed a new one-year deal with the Bradford outfit despite their relegation to the Championship.

In the 2015 season, Mellor featured in the pre-season friendlies against Castleford Tigers and Leeds. He featured in round 1 (Leigh) to round 4 (Hunslet Hawks) then in round 9 (London Broncos) to round 16 (Doncaster). Mellor played in the qualifier 3 against Salford to qualifier 4 against Widnes then in qualifier 7 Halifax. Mellor played in the Challenge Cup in round 5 Hull Kingston Rovers. Mid-way through the season, Mellor signed a two-year extension to his contract.

In the 2016 season, Mellor featured in the pre-season friendlies against Leeds and Castleford. He featured in round 2 (Whitehaven) to round 3 Swinton Lions then in round 5 Oldham to round 7 London Broncos. He played in round 10 (Dewsbury Rams) to round 13 against Swinton then in round 15 against Leigh. Mellor featured in round 17 (Workington Town) to round 21 Whitehaven then in round 23 Featherstone Rovers. Mellor featured in the Championship Shield game 1 Whitehaven to the final against Sheffield. Mellor played in the Challenge Cup in the 4th round against the Dewsbury club.

Huddersfield Giants Following Bradford's liquidation before the 2017 season, he signed a three-year deal with Super League side Huddersfield.

Mellor featured in round 1 against Widnes to round 6 against Wigan.

Leeds Rhinos On 17 October 2020, he played in the 2020 Challenge Cup final victory for Leeds over Salford at Wembley Stadium.

Castleford Tigers On 21 June 2022, Castleford Tigers announced that Mellor would join the club with immediate effect, having signed a two-and-a-half-year deal. He made his Tigers debut later that week, in a golden-point win against Catalans Dragons at Wheldon Road. He scored his first try for the club against his former side Huddersfield on 19 August.

Ahead of the 2023 season, Mellor was assigned squad number 12 and also appointed Castleford vice-captain. On 12 May, playing as a centre, he scored two tries for Castleford in their 22–46 loss against Catalans Dragons. Three weeks later, at the 2023 Magic Weekend, he scored two tries in Castleford's 26–24 win against Leeds. Mellor made twenty-six appearances throughout the season as the club narrowly avoided relegation by finishing above Wakefield. He said, "We've massively underperformed as a team," and that looking forward, "There's a lot of improvements that need to happen across the board." He displayed impressive form as the season progressed with Castleford director of rugby Danny Wilson praising his "tough line-running", and subsequently signed a two-year contract extension in May. On 12 July, Mellor scored two tries in the Tigers' round 17 win against London. At the end of the season, he was awarded Castleford Player of the Year.

While Castleford finished 11th in the 2025 season, Mellor's performances were praised by The Yorkshire Post which described him as "a shining light in the dark times" and "reliable, wholehearted and prepared to put his body on the line". He played twenty-six matches, registering the most minutes of any forward and topping metres gained for the Tigers. In May, he signed a contract extension until the end of 2027; director of rugby Chris Chester said, "He's been our most consistent player in the side this season and has shown extraordinary leadership on and off the field." He retained the Castleford Player of the Year award, as well as being named Players' Player of the Year.

Mellor was appointed club captain for the 2026 season by new head coach Ryan Carr, and spoke of his optimism following improvements around the club. He sustained a broken leg in round 2, however this didn't require surgery and he returned after five weeks. He was named in the team of the week in rounds 11 and 12 consecutively for his performances in Castleford's victories against York Knights and St Helens.

Club statistics

+ Appearances and points in all competitions by year Club Season Tier Bradford Bulls 2013 Super League 2 0 0 0 0 2014 Super League 8 0 0 0 0 2015 Championship 15 0 0 0 0 2016 Championship 26 9 0 0 36 2022 Championship 1 0 0 0 0 Total 52 9 0 0 36 Huddersfield Giants 2017 Super League 28 3 0 0 12 2018 Super League 24 7 0 0 28 2019 Super League 27 9 0 0 36 Total 79 19 0 0 76 Leeds Rhinos 2020 Super League 13 2 0 0 8 2021 Super League 15 2 0 0 8 2022 Super League 6 0 0 0 0 Total 34 4 0 0 16 Castleford Tigers 2022 Super League 11 1 0 0 4 2023 Super League 26 5 0 0 20 2024 Super League 26 5 0 0 20 2025 Super League 26 4 0 0 16 2026 Super League 9 0 0 0 0 Total 98 15 0 0 60 Career total 263 47 0 0 188