Goons hail different ruffians (9)
I believe the answer is:
hooligans
'ruffians' is the definition.
('hooligan' can be a synonym of 'ruffian')
'goons hail different' is the wordplay.
'different' indicates an anagram.
'goons'+'hail'='goonshail'
'goonshail' with letters rearranged gives 'HOOLIGANS'.
(Other definitions for hooligans that I've seen before include "Violent troublemakers" , "Thugs" , "delinquents" , "More than one tough" , "football louts" .)