Sydney players ‘torn’ over suspended stars appearing at club’s best-and-fairest awards

The five suspended Sydney Swans players will face their teammates tomorrow (Wednesday) for the first time since the Pullman Hotel controversy erupted.

All five players are expected to attend a meeting at the club’s headquarters and address their teammates, in what will be a pivotal day for the Swans.

At this stage it is unclear how welcoming the other players will be of the banned five, with many still angry at what has occurred.

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The club suspensions of Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon are separate to a police investigation into sexual assault allegations, with Victoria Police flagging an update not expected until late October.

No charges have been laid, and 7NEWS.com.au is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of the five suspended players.

The timing of Wednesday’s meeting is crucial, with the club’s best-and-fairest award night scheduled for next week.

It is also unclear if Heeney, who is the favourite to win the Bob Skilton Medal, will be able to attend the event, or even eligible to win.

However, veteran AFL reporter Caroline Wilson said on Channel 7’s The Agenda Setters that she was believing there had been “a change of heart at the Sydney Swans”.

“Speaking to the Swans earlier tonight, they had still not decided whether those players would be welcome at that event and whether they would be eligible to win the award,” Wilson said.

“I’m told that the players were still torn on that. There are some board members who feel one way, some who feel the other.”

The players were eligible to win the Brownlow Medal but weren’t allowed to attend the ceremony. However, the club’s best and fairest presents a different dilemma given Heeney’s status as favourite.

Running defender Nick Blakey will also be at the crucial meeting despite the fact he has been at odds with the club over his treatment.

In fact Blakey’s management has approached other clubs, particularly Victorian clubs, and there has also been a link to Gold Coast.

“Nick Blakey is now going to keep his powder dry, I should say, until tomorrow’s meeting, because he is waiting to see how he is greeted by his coaches and his teammates before he makes a call on his future,” Wilson said on The Agenda Setters.

“And of course, as Sydney people were telling me at the Brownlow last night, it’s very hard to know what to do if you’re the Swans and if you’re other clubs, because four of these players, only not Riley Bice (who is now a witness), have potential sexual assault charges hanging over them.”

Wilson she expected Blakey and the other four players, Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon and Bice to all apologise.

“I think (Blakey wants) to see how that is taken by the coaching group, the footy boss, the footy department and of course his teammates. But it’s going to be pivotal,” Wilson said.

“Tomorrow is a pivotal day for the Sydney Swans. There was talk that the meeting might be moved off-site if there’s too much noise around it. I don’t think they really wanted it known that the meeting was going to take place tomorrow, so where it takes place is a moot point.

“As we speak, tonight, it was going to be held at the Sydney Swans footy headquarters.”

AFL great Luke Hodge wondered what would happen if they were banned from winning the best and fairest and nothing came from the allegations or the police investigation.

“I think we’ve come a long way, Luke. First of all, that they are considering these players coming to the best and fairest and potentially being eligible to win it,” Wilson said.

“Even before we knew what was going to happen with the police investigation, all these players were uninvited to, and deemed ineligible for All-Australian selection, not because of the police charges, but because of what they did that night and of the known facts.

“So, are the known facts bad enough to ban them from the best and fairest? I’m beginning to think that there’s a change of heart at the Sydney Swans, but that will not be decided until after tomorrow’s meeting.”

Wilson said she was not sure whether the meeting with the players would be combative, but there were “still a lot of very angry footballers”.

“The veiw of Dean Cox (coach), Leon Cameron (footy boss), and Matthew Pavlich (CEO) Andrew Pridham (chairman) ... everyone is going away next week ... they need to rip the Band-Aid off and see where we can go from here.

“Do not ask me to predict what’s happened.”

Heeney finished the Brownlow Medal equal-eighth with 26 votes, ahead of Errol Gulden (17), who ended the season with five consecutive best-afield performances, Brodie Grundy (14), Warner (12), Charlie Curnow (10) and Blakey (five).