A violent brawl at a men's footy grand final involving players and spectators has resulted in three people being arrested.
Northern Territory Police, who were already on the ground at Nitmiluk Oval in Katherine on Saturday, had to break up masses of people about 9.20pm, immediately after the Katherine Camels beat the Ngukurr Bulldogs in a close game.
Three people were arrested and have since been released after being issued infringement notices for disorderly behaviour in a public place.
Police have not confirmed the reason the fight broke out.
Camels president Tim Delaney said umpires were chased from the field and one was injured.
A live-streamed online video of the grand final match and subsequent fight was immediately taken down from the AFL NT website.
An AFL NT spokesman said the incident was under investigation.
"The actions displayed by a number of individuals following the game were appalling and are not welcome in our game," he said.
"AFL NT will follow due process in investigating the incident and will take all relevant actions relating to those involved as part of this process."
Delaney said the incident, driven largely by spectators, "erupted" in the last few minutes of the "rough" match.
The ABC has contacted the NT Umpires Association but is yet to receive a response.
"There was a bit of push and shove at the end of the game and then the crowd came running on, throwing stuff," Delaney said.
"A couple of the boys said they got chased with scissors and knives.
"It got scary fast."
Delaney said the team managed to escape the field, but was forced to barricade themselves in a locker room for an hour-and-a-half.
A similar confrontation between the teams occurred in 2012.
"There's no place for violence at a sporting event … kids and family were petrified of [leaving the sporting ground] to get to their cars," he said.
As the AFL grapples with a severe umpire shortage – it's estimated the sport is 6,000 umpires short at community level – Delaney said he was concerned the game was in jeopardy.
"For it to end like that was a bloody disgrace … we battle so hard for umpires down here," he said.
'We were in the spotlight, now the lights are off'
In a statement released on Tuesday, Ngukurr community leaders and the Ngukurr Bulldogs men's and women's sides said they "apologise unreservedly for the behaviour and actions of those involved in [the] violence and aggression".
Yugul Mangi Development Aboriginal Corporation chairperson Bobby Nunggumajbarr said the incident had brought "shame on the community and the players who worked hard all season to play and succeed at the game the community loves".
"Ngukurr leaders and Bulldogs players are disappointed, disgraced and upset by the actions of a small number of irresponsible and immature people.
"Those stupid acts and behaviour took everything away from us. When we went to Katherine as finalists, we were in the spotlight — now the lights are off."
The community has confirmed it will be supporting any actions and investigations by AFL NT and NT Police.
At a local level, community leaders will be meeting to develop strategies and will work with AFL NT to mitigate instances of a similar instance in the future.
