The Swans squad are reportedly anything but united on the back of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault following the team’s win over Essendon at the MCG on Sunday.
Sydney’s 2026 premiership hopes went up in smoke this week as the club stood down Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner for the remainder of the season for breaching club expectations.
Of the five involved in the alleged incident, Heeney is reportedly at the centre of the police investigation.
None of the five players have formally been interviewed by police, but they have reportedly spoken to investigators as they investigate an alleged sexual assault. No arrests have been made nor any charges laid, with the exact circumstances of the incident still to be determined.
News.com.au does not suggest any of the players are under investigation or implicated in any wrongdoing, only that they have been spoken to by investigators.
But for the rest of the squad, they know they have to move forward and focus on footy, which is easier said than done.
As they returned to training on Wednesday, notably the five players stood down were not in attendance.
Before the session got underway, Swans captain Callum Mills addressed the playing group and staff, who stood shoulder to shoulder in a circle.
Many players could be seen with their heads down listening to the speech from their skipper and coach Dean Cox.
The usual jovial mood around training was anything but as the team prepares for the tall task of a finals footy campaign without several of their stars.
And while the Swans are presenting a united front, they are anything but, according to a report from Channel 7’s Mitch Cleary.
On Wednesday, Swans chief executive Matthew Pavlich stressed his club was “not abandoning our players”, adding the five that’d been stood down would be allowed back at the football club “at the right time”.
However, Cleary stated that despite the club’s public stance, there was “a strong level of resentment” from teammates.
“Although you’ll hear over the coming days key personnel from the Swans say they’re supporting their teammates and a wrapping of arms around these players, (but) I understand there’s a strong level of resentment from the teammates,” Cleary told Channel 7 on Wednesday night.
“This is a footy club that saw this year as one of redemption after two Grand Final defeats in the last four years. The players are severely upset and disappointed with their teammates as to the situation the entire club now finds themselves in.”
It also has legends questioning if the famed Bloods culture will ever be the same again.
The club with the unofficial ‘no dickheads’ policy now faces a big task of rebuilding culture and deciding what happens beyond this season with the five players stood down for breaching club standards.
AFL legend Matthew Lloyd believes the Swans will look to cut ties with some, if not all, of the five players.
“I think it’s a fair punishment too. To be thinking that after a game of footy, with finals only a few weeks away, that you go out to all hours and behave in that manner, I think they couldn’t play another game of football this year and the club did what they had to do,” Lloyd told the Today show on Thursday.
“In terms of moving on players, yeah. I just think they’ve lost so much respect.
“I’ll be staggered if some of those players, if not all of them, are (not) moved on at the end of the season.”
Meanwhile, Sydney premiership-winning coach John Longmire admitted the Swans’ culture has “taken a big hit”.
“A lot of people, not just me but a lot of people, that have been involved in this club … for a long period of time have been really proud of that (culture),” he said on Fox Footy on Wednesday night.
“The culture of the footy club, it’s taken a big hit. It’s taken a big hit.
“It’ll take time for everyone to rebuild the trust in the football club, and that’s what everyone intends to do, to get to work and rebuild the trust in the football club.”
Former AFL player Mitch Brown also spoke out on the current Sydney Swans scandal, calling out what he describes as a deeply entrenched “toxic” culture across the game.
“You’re only measured on your performance. And that’s a sustained culture, it’s always been like that. So what happens is you can win a premiership and still have this toxic off-field culture,” Brown said on 2DayFM Breakfast on Thursday.
“What that does is embedded in (players) that you don’t have to prioritise respect for women to win a premiership. You don’t have to prioritise any of that stuff to win.
“We’ve got it all wrong. And then things like this happen and they keep happening. It’s just an example but it’s happening everywhere, all around Australia and not just in professional settings.”
The club is also dealing with threats from fans that they could walk out of the ground following the AFLW game this weekend.
The Swans men’s team will face North Melbourne after the women’s team take on Essendon in a double header on Sunday afternoon and Sydney CEO Matthew Pavlich has urged members to continue to support both the men’s and women’s teams.
“Keep supporting us,” Pavlich told Today.
“We’re sorry that we’re putting you all through this.”