Swans tipped to cut players loose as unwanted rebuild looms
AFL legend Matthew Lloyd expects some, if not all five, of the suspended Swans players to leave the club this year in the wake of the scandal which is still evolving.
Superstar midfielder-forward Isaac Heeney has been revealed as the player at the centre of a Victoria Police investigation into sexual assault allegations.
James Jordon, Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney, Riley Bice, and Nick Blakey. Nine
Four teammates - Nick Blakey, Chad Warner, Riley Bice, and James Jordon - have also been suspended by the club for the rest of the AFL season for breaking Swans standards. Those sanctions were unrelated to the allegation being probed by the police.
Sydney CEO Matthew Pavlich on Wednesday said “staying out late, drinking, continuing their night, bringing women back to the hotel” were the acts which broke club standards in a Melbourne hotel room in the early hours of Monday.
Victoria Police detectives were travelling to Sydney on Thursday to continue their investigation. Nine.com.au is not suggesting any of the players will be charged with a crime.
While the situation is still developing, pundits are now wondering what the future holds for the Swans and the five players who have been stood down.
Their chances of winning the premiership this year have all but ended, despite finishing the season second on the AFL ladder.
But the effects of this scandal could be far longer lasting, with Lloyd tipping several players to leave the club.
“In terms of moving on players, yeah. I just think they’ve lost so much respect,” the Essendon premiership winner told Nine’s Today.
“I’ll be staggered if some of those players, if not all of them, are (not) moved on at the end of the season.”
Leading AFL journalist Jake Niall went as far as to suggest some of their careers may well be over.
“I think it’s possible,” Niall told Today.
“I wouldn’t think likely. Three of the players - in Heeney, Blakey, and Warner - are stars. Heeney and Warner would be the club’s best players, and two of the best players in the AFL.
Chad Warner has been linked to a move home to Perth. Getty Images
“I don’t see their careers, on the face of it, ending. But you never know. I wouldn’t think it’s impossible, but on the balance of it probably unlikely. I think they will be playing at some point.
“What’s more possible is that one or more could be traded, that their time at the Swans could end.
“Clubs in history, if very talented players are available, even if they’ve made major stuff ups, they tend to get other chances if they’re very good... that’s just how it works.”
Heeney is one of the best players in the AFL and has been the face of the Swans for some time.
He signed a lengthy contract extension in 2022 which ties him to the club until the end of 2028, reportedly on about $1 million a season.
Warner is a rising star who was heavily linked to a return home to Perth, but ended up recommitting to the Swans last year on a new deal reportedly worth as much as $2.7m over two years. That expires at the end of 2027.
Gun defender Blakey inked a monster deal in 2023 which ties him to the Swans until the end of 2031.
For any of those players to leave the club, the Swans basically have two options.
They can sack the player, presuming there’s a breach of contract that warrants such severe action, which would open the door for a rival club to bring them on board pending AFL approval.
Or, the Swans could try to strike a deal during the October trade period to move a player to a different club.
Either way, any of Heeney, Warner, Blakey, or Jordon leaving would be a bitter blow to the Swans from the perspective of on-field performance, and would likely nail shut their premiership window.
The Swans narrowly missed winning the title in 2024, and then missed finals last year, but have climbed the ladder to be right back in premiership contention.
Now second-year coach Dean Cox faces a possibility that was unthinkable just days ago: a significant rebuild without several of his elite players who are currently in their prime years.
