Isaac Heeney’s fiancee Steffanie Waters has reportedly left their Sydney home amid the fallout from the star’s suspension by the Swans.
Along with Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice, Heeney has been stood down for the remainder of the AFL season as police continue to investigate an alleged sexual assault at a Melbourne hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.
Heeney has already lost sponsors and had his children’s book pulled from shelves in the wake of the scandal.
And the latest claim from the Adelaide Advertiser alleges his fiancee Waters, who is described as “distraught” in light of the scandal, has “travelled away” from their Sydney home and headed to Noosa.
In the report, a friend of Heeney’s also said: “He is in a real bad head space.”
Heeney and Waters, who have been dating for several years and got engaged in French Polynesia last October, have restricted comments on most of their Instagram pages.
However trolls have targeted Waters with abusive comments on some of her posts.
Four of the five Swans stars involved in the police investigation — Heeney, Blakey, Jordon and Warner — have publicised their relationships on social media.
Warner is with girlfriend Alice Hughes, while Blakey is in a relationship with Olympic sprinter Ella Connolly.
Jordan is dating charity worker Emily Twycross.
New claims emerge
New details have emerged surrounding one of the women involved in the Sydney Swans investigation.
Following reports topless waitresses were ordered to the Melbourne hotel, the Herald Sun claim one may have been locked out of the room while naked.
It is claimed she found a Swans official and made a complaint asking to retrieve her clothes, which is when the team realised what had unfolded.
Channel 7’s Tom Morris reports the players allegedly involved told the women they were carpenters when asked their profession.
Victoria Police continue to investigate the incident with the Swans standing down five players.
Squad disharmony
The Swans squad are reportedly anything but united on the back of the 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 Bice, Blakey, Heeney, Jordon and 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.”
End of the Bloods culture?
The scandal 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.
Former skipper Kieran Jack expressed his “devastation” as he criticised the culture at the club.
“Like so many people who love the Swans I am devastated, disappointed and very troubled by the actions that took place over the weekend,” he wrote on social media.
“My thoughts are with the women involved and I truly hope they are being supported.
“Wearing red and white was one the proudest achievements of my life. It was a privilege to represent.
“’Bloods culture’ is spoken about. This was built and maintained through a core pillar of respect.
“Respect for each other, respect for the club, your family, the opponent, supporters and importantly, community.
“Right now this feels broken.
“A lack of respect for women cannot be tolerated.
“Being a bystander is not an option. If you love the Swans, if you love footy, it is time to stand up.”
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.”
Potential walkout from Swans fans
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.”