Sport
17 July, 2026
It’s over for Mellington
BEARS Lagoon Serpentine full-forward Josh Mellington won’t play this season.
BEARS Lagoon Serpentine full-forward Josh Mellington won’t play this season.
The Bears held out hopes that the spearhead would recover from post-season surgery and would be available for the second half of the year, but they have now accepted the inevitable.
It is likely that Mellington’s time in the Loddon Valley league is over after just two seasons, 21 games and a mammoth 191 goals.
Initially, Serp hoped he would play after ankle and thumb surgery as early as round three, but that return date kept slipping away.
With finals out of the question for the Bears, and Mellington on holiday, they have pulled the pin on his season.
“He’s still away at the moment,” Bears coach Jake Wilkinson said. “I don’t think we will be seeing him for the rest of the year.”
The team has struggled in attack without the prolific forward, with Farren Priest’s 31 goals from 12 games leading the scoring.
Mellington averaged more than nine goals a game for the Bears.
However, his playing style divided onlookers, with his insistence of being the main – sometimes the only – focus of the attack. Mellington’s disciplinary record has him just a two-match ban away from being deregistered.
His football career has been nomadic – only once has he played more than two seasons with one club.
Read More: Serpentine, Loddon Shire