 Brian Melrose grew up in Baulkham Hills in Sydney, as the third of four brothers who all played first-grade rugby.His brother Tony Melrose is a former Wallaby who also played rugby league for Parramatta, Souths, Easts, Manly and New South Wales.Melrose played as a fly-half or centre in Sydney's club rugby competition for Parramatta, Western Suburbs (now West Harbour), and Eastwood in the 1980s and 1990s.