Banned Swans five return to club for first time after hotel room scandal
The five players suspended by the Swans last month will return to the club this week for the first time since the Melbourne hotel room scandal broke.
Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon, and Riley Bice have not been seen near the Sydney Cricket Ground since being stood down by the club for the remainder of the AFL season.
James Jordon, Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney, Riley Bice, and Nick Blakey. Nine
They broke club standards by partying late into the night inside a Pullman Hotel room following the round 23 win against Essendon.
Separately, Victoria Police detectives are investigating allegations of sexual assault inside the hotel room after three women made formal complaints.
Nine.com.au is not suggesting any of the Swans players have been accused of criminal wrongdoing, and no charges have been laid.
Bice has been cleared by investigators.
On Wednesday, Swans coach Dean Cox and CEO Matthew Pavlich confirmed all five players are expected to return to the club for end-of-season interviews this week.
It’s unclear if all, or any, of them will appear at the SCG on Wednesday, but players have started their exit interviews already.
“It’s a natural thing that the players will come into the club over the next period,” Pavlich told media outside the SCG on Wednesday morning.
“Don’t know exactly when that will be, given that the season’s now finished and player exit meetings are occurring.
“The players at some point will have a chat to the broader group and the club... but there’s no timeline.
“I want them to come in and do what we would normally do at the end of a season, which is player exit meetings.
“And if they’ve got something to say to the playing group... then we’ll hear them out.”
All five players are contracted to the Swans for the 2027 season.
Blakey has been linked to a move to another club despite being contracted to the end of 2031, but any trade will be complicated by the fact the police investigation is ongoing.
The AFL trade period begins on October 5.
