The Super League Grand Final between Hull KR and Wigan Warriors descended into anarchy at Old Trafford on Saturday as a punch sparked a mass melee.
Wigan’s Jared Waerea-Hargreaves caught Brad O’Neill in the face after the Hull star’s reckless foul on Tyrone May.
O’Neill had effectively flipped May over and Wigan reacted strongly, with Waerea-Hargreaves lashing out as both squads broke into a scuffle.
Order was quickly restored and Hull held their nerve to win 24-6, claiming their first-ever Super League title.
They are only the fifth club to win the title in its 28-year history after St Helends, Leeds Rhinos, Bradford Bulls, and Wigan, who had won the previously two Grand Finals.
It caps off a wonderful season for Hull, who had won the League Leaders’ Shield and the Challenge Cup and finished first in the league phase, but still came into this one as underdogs.
The Super League Grand Final descended into chaos as Hull KR and Wigan Warriors clashed
Hull ran out 24-6 winners to become just the fifth team ever to win the Grand Final
They were relegated just nine years ago, and finished bottom four years ago, but have completed a remarkable turnaround
Just nine years ago they dropped into the Championship after losing to Salford Red Devils in the 2016 Million Pound Game, and only four years back they finished bottom of the Super League.
But on Saturday they became the first new team to win the Grand Final in 21 years, completing a remarkable comeback story.
Mikey Lewis, Joe Burgess (2), and Jez Litten scored their tries while Arthur Mourgue and Whyse Martin (2) added the conversions.
Captain Elliot Michella told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘The club got relegated nine years ago and we’ve just won a treble. Bonkers.
‘Credit goes to the people at the top of the club who have stuck by it through thick and thin. They could have easily just walked away and said this is someone else’s job, but they did the complete opposite.
‘I’ve been here for six years and the turnaround in that time has been astronomical, so I’m just so proud.’
And head coach Willie Peters told Sky Sports: ‘The first word that comes to mind is obviously “proud.” These players, the people, the performance, it’s an honour to fight tooth and nail and to win that.
‘It started a long time ago for us, it started our first day back at training. We spoke around last year, what happened last year. Tonight was on the flip side. These boys were the ones that were fighting. Absolutely amazing.’
He added: ‘You never forget where you come from. Our people, the people of East Hull, they don’t get it easy. We were never, ever going to get that game easy tonight. We were never going to get that second half easy.’
