UNTIL being cruelly struck down by injury, Alex Mellor had become an increasingly important member of Jimmy Lowes’ team.

The Bulls back-rower has progressed through the youth ranks at Odsal, making his debut off the bench against Warrington two years ago.

He made one more appearance that season in the final-day thumping of Huddersfield before featuring eight times during last season’s disastrous campaign.

When Lowes was appointed last June, he saw something in Mellor and played him in two big games in succession against Wigan and Leeds.

The Bulls won them both and Mellor repaid the trust that Lowes had showed in him by playing his part in the famous victories.

Bradford had been relegated at that point, but the results stopped the rot and restored belief to a group of players and a set of supporters who had been battered from pillar to post.

“Beating Wigan gave me massive confidence and then winning at Leeds the week after was probably the best game of my career so far,” remembered Mellor.

“I’ve never had a feeling like that at the end of a game and it gave me huge confidence.

“All through pre-season training, I took that confidence and self-belief into this season.”

The 20-year-old from Halifax subsequently started the campaign in Lowes’ top 17, featuring in the opening four games before spraining his ankle against Hunslet.

That forced him to miss a handful of matches before he returned to the side and underlined his quality with several more stirring performances, often working tirelessly at loose forward.

Mellor, who represented England at youth level, said: “I had been playing loose forward in recent games before my knee injury and I preferred it to second row.

“I like the graft, being able to tackle more and carry more, and I had started to settle in there.”

But then disaster struck in the recent home game against Doncaster.

A knee injury forced Mellor off and will sideline him until August, when he will hope to return in the team for the middle eights.

“It’s just unfortunate that this happened,” he said of the injury which ruled him out for ten weeks.

“You don’t really develop confidence any other way than playing.

“Playing so regularly this season has helped me massively confidence-wise.

“But the good news is that I don’t need an operation, so it should mend itself as it’s a tear to my MCL (medial collateral ligament).

“If you look at the timescale, it falls nicely in terms of getting back for the middle-eights but I can’t take anything for granted.

“My spot is up for grabs now and there is going to be someone else playing there.

“It’s my duty to work hard over the next ten weeks, get back in Jimmy’s eyeline and try and get back in the side when I’m fit again.

“It could have been a tear to my ACL and a six-month job.

“I’ve got to be positive and think it could have been worse.

“I’ll try and keep my rehab perfect and get back as soon as I can.

“Nothing is guaranteed and I need to work my backside off to keep getting picked.

“This is a bit of a barrier to that but it won’t block me mentally.”

Mellor admits he would love nothing more than to return to the side and play a role in the club’s promotion back to Super League.

He added: “That would be a dream come true.”