Fake grenade causes 80-minute delay to rugby league match

The alarm was raised during a routine pre-match safety inspection at Victoria Pleasure Ground, with the object found close to the athletics track surrounding the playing surface. Just 30 minutes before the scheduled 3pm kick-off, Goole confirmed that the match would be postponed due to “an incident” being handled by authorities, urging supporters to stay away from the ground until later in the afternoon.

Humberside Police were quickly on the scene and established a safety cordon while a specialist unit assessed the situation.

"Officers were called to Victoria Pleasure Ground in Goole on Sunday, 12 April to reports of a possible grenade being found in the area," a police statement read via BBC Sport.

"A cordon was in place at the time whilst a specialist team were called to examine the item.

"Upon inspection the suspected grenade was found to be a non-explosive replica and was safely removed from the area."

With the all-clear eventually given, fans were allowed to return, and play finally got underway at 4:20pm.

Goole later praised the response to the incident, stating: "The response from all parties involved was swift, co-ordinated and highly professional.

"The club would like to place on record its sincere thanks to the club management, emergency services and local authority partners for their exceptional management of a highly unusual situation."

Despite the disruption, it was Whitehaven who adapted better, running out 36-22 winners and leaving the Vikings rooted near the foot of the table after a chaotic afternoon.