Chris Melling
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Personal information | ||||||
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Full name | Christopher Melling | |||||
Nickname | Mello, Curtis, Harry Potter | |||||
Born | Ashton-in-Makerfield, Greater Manchester, England |
21 September 1984 |||||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | |||||
Weight | 14 st 7 lb (92 kg) [1] | |||||
Playing information | ||||||
Position | Fullback, Wing, Loose forward | |||||
Club | ||||||
Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
2004–06 | Wigan Warriors | 13 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 46 |
2007–13 | Harlequins/London Broncos | 162 | 41 | 9 | 0 | 180 |
Total | 175 | 44 | 26 | 0 | 226 | |
Representative | ||||||
Years | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
2007 | Great Britain | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
As of 15 February 2012 | ||||||
Source: Rugby League Project |
Chris Melling (born 21 September 1984) is an English rugby league player for London Broncos in the European Super League. His position of choice is as a Fullback. He can also operate on the Wing or at Hooker and has on occasion played in the Centres, at Stand-off/Five-eighth, Loose forward/Lock and in the Second-row. He is a Great Britain international.
Contents
Early career
Chris Melling attended Byrchall High School and played junior rugby league for the Ashton and Hindley junior clubs.[2] Melling is a youth level international for England, touring Australia and New Zealand with England Under 16s in 2001 and also representing England's U18 Academy.[2][3]
Wigan Warriors
Melling is a former Wigan Senior Academy captain who made several appearance for the Wigan first team.
In 2004's Super League IX it had seemed that Melling's career was in doubt following a serious knee injury suffered playing for Wigan against Leeds at Headingley.[4] Melling had been seen as a future star before having his season ended by a cruciate ligament injury.[5]
Upon his return to first team action in 2005's Super League X Chris made a further 10 first grade appearances for the JJB club before picking up another knee injury requiring further surgery.[2]
Melling returned to full fitness in 2006, but found first team opportunities limited, due to the emergence of Chris Ashton at the club.[6] Chris Melling moved into the Hooker role in Wigan's academy, impressing enough to be voted as the U'21 Academy 'Player of the Year' for 2006.[7]
He left Wigan to pursue regular first team football.
Harlequins RL
Melling was initially signed as a back-up hooker to Chad Randall,[8] however the Great Britain international has made Fullback position his own. He has been compared to Wade McKinnon with the youngster being defensively solid and dependable, with an eye for a gap bringing the ball out in attack.[9] His move to Harlequins was to have seen the youngster undergo a positional change with a move to hooker.[10] He had been previously employed throughout the backline, with most of his first team appearances coming as an outside back.
Melling has impressed in 2007,[11] starting games at full-back and throughout the backline and scoring four tries. In May 2007 Chris Melling agreed to a new two-year deal with Harlequins Rugby League, midway through his first season at the Twickenham Stoop.[12] This will keep Melling in the capital until 2009.[13] He is seen as the emerging star at the Harlequins, with Harlequins RL investing in young British talent.[14]
Representative football
In June 2007 Melling was called up to the Great Britain squad[15][16][17] and was Fullback in the Test match against France.[18] He was joined in the Great Britain Test side by Harlequins teammate Paul Sykes.[19] Melling made his Great Britain début in the 42-14 victory over the French on 22 June 2007, despite carrying an injury.[20][21][22]
Away from football
Melling is a qualified Physiotherapist after studying at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston,[23] graduating in June 2006.[24] Melling hopes to set up his own physiotherapy practise in the future.[24]
References
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- ↑ Lester, Joanna: "Joanna Lester chats to two stars who are particularly familiar with today's opposition...", game on!, Harlequins RL v Wigan Warriors, p41, 2 June 2007
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- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lester, Joanna: "Joanna Lester chats to full back and budding physiotherapist Chris Melling", game on!, Harlequins RL v Wakefield, p41, 14 April 2007
External links
- Pages with reference errors
- Use dmy dates from February 2015
- Use British English from February 2015
- Pages with broken file links
- Infobox rugby league biography templates updated
- 1984 births
- English rugby league players
- Wigan Warriors players
- London Broncos players
- Living people
- People from Ashton-in-Makerfield
- Great Britain national rugby league team players
- Rugby league fullbacks
- Rugby league locks
- Rugby league wingers
- Rugby league hookers
- Rugby league five-eighths
- Rugby league second-rows
- Rugby league utility players