Swansea City Players Return to Club for First Time Since Suspension

The five Sydney Swans players suspended over last month’s Pullman Hotel incident are set to return to the club and face their teammates today.

Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice have had no official involvement with the club since being stood down for breaching team standards after a post-match gathering at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne.

The club-imposed suspensions are separate from a Victoria Police investigation into sexual assault allegations reportedly linked to events in the early hours of August 17.

Police are understood to have spoken with Heeney, Warner, Blakey and Jordon while investigating sexual assault reports made by three women inside the hotel room.

Bice has been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

No charges have been laid in connection with the allegations.

After missing Monday’s Brownlow Medal, the five players are expected to return to the Swans’ Moore Park headquarters this morning for exit meetings with the playing group.

‘It’s a natural thing that the players will come into the club over the next period,’ Swans chief executive Matthew Pavlich told reporters.

‘I don’t know exactly when that’ll be, given the season’s now finished and player exit meetings are occurring.

‘At some point, the players will have a conversation with the broader group and the club, but there’s no timeline.’

Asked for more details about the players’ return, Pavlich declined to comment, saying he wanted them ‘to be themselves.’

‘I want them to come in and do what we’d normally do at the end of a season, which is player exit meetings,’ he said.

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‘If they’ve got something to say to their player group or something to say to the club, then we’ll hear them out.’

All five players are expected to remain with the Swans for the 2027 season.

Warner and Jordon are contracted until the end of 2027, while Heeney and Bice remain signed through the 2028 season.

The Swans have declined to comment on the players’ futures. However, The Age has reported that Blakey, who is contracted until 2031, is unhappy with the club’s handling of the incident.

Journalist Caroline Wilson told The Agenda Setters on Tuesday that the reception Blakey receives from his teammates when he returns could play a key role in determining his future.

‘Nick Blakey we know has been at odds with the club, whose management have been approached by other clubs, particularly Victorian clubs and also we’re told there was initially some Gold Coast interest because of his relationship situation,’ she said.

‘(He) is now going to keep his powder dry until (the) meeting because he is waiting to see how he is treated by his coaches and his teammates before he makes a call on his future.’

Victoria Police’s eight-week timeline for its probe into the Pullman Hotel incident – which was first flagged on September 2 – takes in the free agency and trade period from October 2 to October 14.

Heeney and Warner are expected to be frontrunners for Sydney’s Bob Skilton Medal, which will be held after this Saturday’s grand final.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

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