Five suspended Sydney Swans players have returned to the club’s Moore Park headquarters for the first time since being stood down over a late-night incident in Melbourne, attending end-of-season exit meetings on Wednesday.
Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon arrived at the Royal Hall of Industries in the Entertainment Quarter as onlookers gathered outside for a concert at the nearby Hordern Pavilion.
The players had been suspended for the remainder of the AFL season after breaching club standards. The sanction ruled them out of Sydney’s final home-and-away match against North Melbourne, their qualifying-final victory over Brisbane and last Friday’s preliminary-final defeat by Fremantle.
Warner and Bice arrived together, while Heeney, Blakey and Jordon travelled in a second car. The group offered little comment to waiting reporters.
“I’m just here for my exit interview,” Warner said.
Heeney added: “I’m looking forward to addressing the playing group.”
Sydney Swans players return amid police investigation
The club suspensions are separate from a Victoria Police investigation into allegations of sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne during the early hours of August 17. No charges have been laid, and Bice is no longer considered a person of interest by police.
Exit meetings are routine end-of-season reviews between players and coaching staff. Swans chief executive Matthew Pavlich said the five players would also speak to the wider playing group at some point.
“It’s a natural thing the players will come in,” Pavlich said. “We have our exit meetings and the players will come in. The players at some point will have a chat to the broader group and the club.”
“I want them to be themselves and I want them to come and do what they normally do – their player exit meetings.”
AFL chief operating officer Tom Harley said the league was not involved in the club’s handling of the players while the police investigation remained ongoing.
“It’s still clearly a legal matter, and whilst it’s in the hands of the police, it remains there,” Harley said.
He added that the Swans would decide when the players returned to pre-season training, should they remain at the club following the trade period.
Blakey is understood to be waiting for greater clarity over the police investigation before deciding whether to request a trade, while Warner has not considered seeking a move. The suspended players were also barred from attending Monday night’s Brownlow Medal count, despite being eligible for the award.
Heeney received 26 votes, while Warner, Blakey and Bice also polled. Collingwood’s Nick Daicos won the medal with a record 47 votes.
