Unfortunately I don't think I would.
Sunday is probably one of the quietest demand days for the police and the manpower on duty would reflect that. The police are now geared to response and any idea of prevention has gone out of the window.
Having said that, the policing of a major sporting occasion would involve manpower brought in specially for the occasion. In comparison to football, I think the police regard policing RL games as money for jam. I know the met police do. Unfortunately the Widnes and, let's face it, fans from a number of clubs, including some of ours, are endangering a reputation of which we can all be justifiably proud. That is we are addicted to a tough game played by tough, proud men who knock seven bells out of each other on the field but we know how to handle the drink and have a good time and we know how to conduct ourselves with dignity.
I think it is beholden to all of us to protect that reputation and have no truck with morons who are sullying the good name of the game.

I saw plenty of police at Langtree. I think the most heavily policed games I've seen were the recent championship finals at the HJ!

May be the problem is due to the availability of cheap alcohol at all hours of the day & night from the cut price booze dealers & supermarkets . The type of cretins we see causing trouble are the type who wouldn't be able to afford to get drunk at pub prices ,but will buy a dozen or two cheap cans & down the lot.

www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/new ... ms/?ref=la I see two of our fan have been banned for 2 & 5 years which I fully agree with , what I dont get is why a 40 year old man would even have a flare?

www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/new ... ms/?ref=la I see two of our fan have been banned for 2 & 5 years which I fully agree with , what I dont get is why a 40 year old man would even have a flare?

Same reason that 40 year old decide to go on the pitch, threaten officials, and cause damage............................they are d#####ads

Good to see. Shame that they weren't named though. When it happened we had a couple of people on here saying there was nothing wrong with throwing flares in the ground.

I remember seeing a post on facebook (in a well known group made up presumably by kids who've obviously watched Green Street/Football Factory too many times) after that game by the same lad who had the flare, he was moaning about being kicked out of the stadium, slagging the stewards and basically saying "ffs it's only a flare". The little p***k seriously believed he'd done nothing wrong and was hard done by and that by bringing it he was "creating an atmosphere". Some 18 year olds are idiots (I know I was at times) but a 40 year bloke with a flare is just ridiculous.

Exactly just complete idiots, you can excuse the 18 year old of being a bit idiotic but not the 40 year old! TBh I would have banned the 40 year old for longer!

Reading the article it appears the teenager was banned for actually being caught setting one off, the older person was only "in possession".

Use that famous search engine and there are enough stories about people being injured and killed by flares. MAYBE the action of the Widnes few have been the cue for teams across the league to start taking action against trouble makers.

To me there's very little difference between being in possession and actually throwing the flare. If you've got one with you, there's only one thing you're going to do with it, it's not designed for anything else.

I'm no fan on flares but anyone else think banning an 18 year old kid for five years for setting off a flare is a little excessive? Give him a year stood outside the ground and he'd learn his lesson.

I personally think the 40 yr old should of got longer as he should definitely know better, I think the 18 year old was used as an example to all the younger fans to behave or you will suffer!

No. You throw a flare into a crowd of people and it's got potential to cause a serious problem.

Just went onto the said Facebook page and they are saying it is a disgrace that he got 5 years

Tell me where it says he threw it into a crowd of people and I'll agree with you.

See new picture on WG website. The smoke flare was definitely set off in amongst the fans.

I'm 18 and am fully aware of the danger and idiocy of pyros. No excuse of "being a kid" when you're 18.

Anybody there on the day could see this anyway, it wasn't exactly inconspicuous...

True...and if I remember correctly, 2 were set off. It was after the second one that stewards and then the police moved in. Some people just like to see it in "black and white"

Good to see Wire take action, the same should have happened with the idiots scrapping during the 2012 Grand Final.

As someone wrote on the VT, instead of trying to shift blame to kick off times, the RFL, 'football fans' etc etc we need to start taking responsibility for ourselves. That goes for many other things in this sport too.

Personally I would have banned them both sine die

Widnes trailing a ban on alcohol consumption in the seats on Friday night www.widnesvikings.co.uk/article/ ... ing-policy

Widnes trailing a ban on alcohol consumption in the seats on Friday night www.widnesvikings.co.uk/article/ ... ing-policy

Football fans didn't make him do it.
Pub landlords didn't make him do it.
Lulu didn't make him do it.
Society didn't make him do it.

This lad is a whopper. End of.

He now has some time away from the stadium, to evaluate why he has "fluffed up". Hopefully, he will realise this and change his ways.

Quote ="mikej"Widnes trailing a ban on alcohol consumption in the seats on Friday night www.widnesvikings.co.uk/article/ ... ing-policy'" Fair play to Widnes for addressing the problem.

Quote ="mikej"Widnes trailing a ban on alcohol consumption in the seats on Friday night www.widnesvikings.co.uk/article/ ... ing-policy'" Fair play to Widnes for addressing the problem.

True, but they don't really have an alternative. Everything they do will impact on the punishment they eventually get off the RFL.