Segregating the two ends behind the sticks, not having a 6pm kick off time and if necessary having a much larger police presence around the stadium and beyond into the city centre where fans are known to congregate would go a long way to solving this.

Segregation at finals needs to start happening. I've witnessed trouble first-hand on a few occasions recently and it's caused by those with the 'day out on the lash' mentality. They are not RL fans. I cannot remember any trouble caused by unsegregated fans in the same stand at a regular season game. It's a shame really.

It'll be a sad day for rugby league (I love mixing with other fans) but for the greater good it needs to happen.

If you come on here again labelling us scum then it will be your last time, warned.

Thinking on, something that I did find disgraceful was the hordes of Warrington fans leaving with about 10 minutes to go. Bleeding fair-weather fans, bandwagon jumpers, JCL's. Probably only the 2nd game they have been to this season (the other being the Challenge Cup Final).

your one class act

He's a Widnes fan, what would you expect. They are all clasless ******* who like to live in the past but are scared to embrace the future, probably because their team is utter dog turd.

I disagree. The only thing that actually needs to happen is for no beer to be sold. None. At any time. If that policy was introduced, fans who had been drinking all day would be sobering up throughout the match. No need for segregation as the amount of times aggro happens as a result of wind ups is small in reality when you think of the number of people at a grand final.

Disagree Saintsfans, people will want a drink, you can't hide that fact, if the ground doesn't sell it, fans will all turn up with 5 mins to go and you have dangerous overcrowding outside. What needs to happen is don't sell to people who look drunk and probably only sell halfs or low strength alcohol.

I was sat directly behind the sticks only 16 or so rows from the front. Around me there where a handful of Wire fans, there where more Leeds fans than Wire, more Hull fans than Wire, more Rovers fans than Wire and more 'neutral' (no colours) than Wire. I didn't notice many neutrals celebrating, or even simply applauding Wire scores so I guess they were there wanting Leeds to win. Despite being sat in what should have been the most desirable seats for Warrington fans I felt like a lone Warrington fan in a sea of anti-Warrington support. I was subject from abuse, both verbal and minor physical, from the cretins who were sat behind me who, after less than five minutes of the game announced that 'this is s h one t' and paid no further interest in the game whatsoever. I was taunted by a middle aged quite respectable looking Leeds fan in front of me several times during the game. The same fan who, after the final whistle, took great exception to Wire players coming down to his end to applaud the fans.

IMO the trouble was alcohol fueled and due to large numbers of drunken mostly neutral fans totally outnumbering Wire fans in certain areas of what should have been 'prime Wire real estate' and taunting them looking for trouble. In fact, not every scuffle involved Wire fans, many I saw were neutral on neutral.

I will never buy supposedly Warrington tickets from the RFL again, I would prefer to queue for hours and get a much worse seat knowing that I will be sat with other Wire fans. In fact, I was so upset and angry about the whole thing (not the result, you win some you lose some) that should we be fortunate to make it to Old Trafford again next year I may well sit and watch it from the comfort and safety of my own home.

From what i could see, every time someone was thrown out they seemed to be in the wrong end. THe thing that irritated me most about the whole occasion was fans leaving before the players came over then standing on the steps clapping as if they werent really leaving and were in fact the best supporters ever. They were still in the stadium due to sheer dumb luck/timing rather than willingness to applaud the team for their magnificent efforts this season.

IMO if you're leaving before the team comes over then you dont deserve to clap them off, rather hang your head in shame. Paul woods just lost a gnad and these peoples biggest concerns are missing a bit of traffic.

Personally, i didn't leave till all the players, and finally tony smith left the field.

I left on the hooter, well done to the lads and all but i'd had a drink and wasn't in a frame of mind to listen to Leeds fans marching on together.

Yours not a true fans, even though i probably do more miles for one game than some do for a whole season.

On the subject of alcohol related incidents, just a quick thanks to the dysfunctional family on our coach home who demanded one our group move from THEIR unreserved seat and threatened to 'have him' when he refused, and then continued the abuse after he was bullied out, ultimately reducing my friend's 12 year old daughter to tears with their behaviour. Thanks a lot, you ruined our day.

After an incident on a Wembley coach in 2010, I said that I would rather drive next time, but I thought what could possibly happen on a 40 minute drive from Manchester? I wish I'd stuck to my original plan.

Never again!

Trouble is, like everywhere, you have sink estates, some of them people actually managed to either save some benefit or nick the lead off the church roof, it's why i hate the coach too, you always run the risk of getting one of these on there, even though most people are lovely.

Im a season ticket holder since 2007 and i left on the hooter aswell for the same reason. Was absolutlely gutted and couldnt listen to anymore "marching on together" "were leeds rhinoooooos". Clapped the lads for there achievements this season after the hudds game. Cant understand all this not true fan bollox if you leave earlier than others. Yes it would have been good to clap the team off but like i said i was gutted and wanted to go home and wallow in self pity.

We like to think the game is (or was) ideal but I can remember plenty of incidents of trouble at games, finals and regular season games, back as far as the 80s, and crap though the incidents last night were I don't think it's getting any worse.

That's not to defend it - I don't see the point of drinking at all at games as I want to be able to enjoy and clearly follow the action, and even a pint doesn't help with that.

I also think it'll remain part of the game. For many fans, and they are fans whether you like their approach or not (and I dont), they'll find a way to get hammered and this plus tribal support means there will be scope for trouble.

I actually thought quite a lot of Wire fans stayed to watch the presentation and the boys come over and show their appreciation......certainly a lot more wires fans stayed behind than leeds did at wembley.

Why we have to have another ing argument about the state of our own fans i dont know ...

lets do the proper thing and get stuck into that widnes loser

Agree with you completely.

Same happened when I went in 2010. We were in the quadrant of the "Wigan end" and felt like we were in the minority, being on the receiving end of abuse from fans with no colours on. The RFL need to stop giving tickets to other clubs in the East and West stands, because this happens EVERY year. Keep the tickets behind the goal for fans of the final clubs only.

Thats probably the best way to go. RFL sell tickets to anybody in north and south stands and leave the ends to the teams contesting the final.

As a non-Tory I don't agree with Yed's next post in this thread, but I fully agree with this (although I actually left two minutes before the end). I was devasted and had zero desire to see Leeds celebrations. I couldn't care less if some uber fans have a problem with this. It was most definitely not my second game of the season.

As for the good old "trouble is caused by people in no colours" argument. Can you explain to me why the fight (or at least the aftermath of one) I saw outside Wembley was between Wires head to toe in primrose and blue, including grown men in face paint?

Can you explain why I saw a grown man in a wolf costume with full Wire away kit over it boo throughout the minute applause last night?

Can you explain why I then saw that same person, along with his equally adult aged mate in a yellow and blue jester hat end up embroiled in bother with Leeds and Widnes fans - all in colours - at half time, resulting in said wolf arguing with his Warrington shirted girlfriend throughout the second half?

I don't like wearing colours (although I did have a Wire badge on my Harrington jacket last night - big game and all that!) but I don't behave like those fully kitted out clowns did.

Was this the kick off before the match that took place in East Stand 30/40 rows up from the corner flag? I was sat front row of North Stand near the corner flag and it looked like a right melee. A good few thousand Leeds fans seemed proud of the behaviour as a noisy "Yorkshire Yorkshire" chant went up. FWIW, it's not the first time I've seen aggro at the GF. Wigan/Saints fans had a good tear up a few seasons ago and IIRC about 20 or so Hull/Saints fans were turfed out last year for a first half dust up.

As for the whole "it'll be football fans" comments some of you really should be ashamed. I'm a follower of both sports and I can honestly say I've seen more trouble at RL grounds than at Football grounds over the years. This whole "we're all gentlemen" in RL attitude needs to be dropped.

I agree with that, as I have mentioned in another thread.

Most people who go on about "football behaviour" have absolutely no idea what they're talking about.

I think we're getting close to the issue for me now. Wembley had some issues but they never seemed as bad. Last night had a "football away match" feel in the stands, and it wasn't comfortable at all for large parts. The whole reason I stopped going the odd football match was because it just stopped being enjoyable because of the intense animosity. I felt it again last night, and it felt very removed from a RL crowd.

Maybe fans from the two teams in the final (and the RFL) should learn from this and only allow certain tickets to be sold by the respective clubs and have them all together in their own section of the ground and keep the other RL teams fans away from them.
Having a group of 'neutral' fans in the middle of the losing fans and laughing in their faces = disaster