Despite his personal loyalties, Mellor – who made his Magic debut in 2014 – admitted he is “really excited to play there”. He noted:
“The corners are all filled in and the atmosphere’s going to be electric. A lot of fans pile in and there’s a lot of games in a short space of time. It is a really good occasion.
“It is just another round of Super League if you look at it on paper, but when you get here, there’s a massive stadium and a load of fans, it just adds to the excitement and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when you walk out.”
Neither side is competing for a place in the play-offs and both are well clear of bottom spot, but Mellor insisted there’s more than pride riding on Sunday’s match. Giants are ninth in the table, one place and a single point clear of Tigers and he stressed: “It’s clearly not a position both clubs want to be in.
“Both want to be forcing their way into the play-offs, but when you look at the context of how this season has gone, every position we can finish [higher] up in Super League is massive. When you put it like that, this becomes a massive game and gives us a chance to get above Huddersfield and hopefully climb the table a bit before the end of the season, to give us a boost into next year.”
Tigers finished second from bottom in 2023 and were tipped to finish in a similarly lowly position this time. Mellor insisted: “Before the season starts, nobody sets out to finish ninth or 10th. That’s not what anyone’s ambition at this club is, but when you look at the start we had and some of our results, where we’ve had a bit of a hiding, to climb any place is pretty important for us and gives us a springboard into next year. This game has quite a lot of importance and gives us a chance to do that.”
Mellor has been playing out of position at centre, but could return to his natural home if Will Tate features on Sunday for the first time since suffering a serious ankle a year ago, though there will be mixed feelings. “I do a lot less tackling out there,” Mellor, 29, said of playing in the three-quarters. “As I get older and a bit more sore after every game, I think 10 tackles rather than 30 every week isn’t a bad thing.
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