Suspended Sydney Swans players Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey and James Jordan have been seen in public for the first time since the Melbourne hotel controversy emerged, returning to the club to discuss their futures.
Swans coach Dean Cox had earlier told reporters that Heeney, Jordan and Blakey would attend exit meetings at the club from Wednesday, joining fellow suspended players Chad Warner and Riley Bice.
Warner and Bice arrived together at the Swans’ Moore Park headquarters late Wednesday afternoon. Heeney, Blakey and Jordan followed shortly afterwards in the same vehicle.
All five players individually addressed staff members and the club’s AFL and AFLW playing groups, offering apologies during the meetings.
Heeney was the only player to speak to reporters afterwards, delivering a brief statement outside the club.
‘It was really nice to address the whole club. I was thankful they could give us their time and understanding, so yeah, it was really good.’
Sydney Swans star Issac Heeney was seen outside the club’s HQ on Wednesday afternoon
James Jordan (left) and Nick Blakey (right) flanked Heeney as the trio returned for player exit meetings following the conclusion of the Swans season
Before the meetings began, only Heeney and Warner spoke with the media, keeping their remarks to a minimum.
‘I’m looking forward to addressing the playing group,’ Heeney said. The Swans vice-captain declined to answer when asked whether he had a message for supporters.
Warner, standing beside a silent Bice, said he had come to the club ‘just here for my exit interview’.
When asked whether he planned to apologise or make any further comment, Warner replied: ‘I don’t know.’
The five players had not made public comments since the Swans suspended them for staying out late, drinking and allegedly calling strippers to Melbourne’s Pullman Hotel after last month’s final home-and-away season match against Essendon.
The club has emphasised that the suspensions relate to alleged breaches of team behavioural rules and are separate from sexual assault allegations made by the women involved.
Victoria Police has said no further update on its investigation into those allegations is expected before late October.
No charges have been laid, and the players have not been accused of or suggested to have committed any wrongdoing.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: How Could AI Kill Humanity? 5 Plausible Scenarios Explained
Steffie Waters is pictured with Isaac Heeney, who appears to have been removed from her social media accounts
Police later confirmed that Bice was not under investigation and would be interviewed only as a witness.
Warner is the only one of the five suspended players previously seen in public since the controversy, having been photographed in Sydney with his girlfriend Alice Hughes.
In recent days, Heeney’s fiancée, Steffie Waters, also appeared to remove references to him from her social media accounts, where she has a substantial following.
Swan coach Cox had arrived at HQ earlier on Wednesday morning, before chief executive Matthew Pavlich briefly spoke to media.
‘It’s a natural thing that the players will come into the club over the next period,’ Pavlich said.
‘And the players at some point will have a chat to the broader group and the club.’
Asked what he would want the five to say in their address, Pavlich said: ‘I want 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.
Riley Bice, Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney arrive at Swans headquarters for regular season-end player exit meetings and to address their teammates after completing their club suspensions.
‘If they’ve got something to say to their player group, if they’ve got something to say to the club, then we’ll hear them out then.’
Blakey was reportedly seeking a trade away from the club, with Geelong and his dad John’s former team North Melbourne mentioned as potential new homes.
The future of the other players was complicated by the fact the investigation into the sex assault allegations was unlikely to be concluded before the end of the upcoming player trade period.
That meant any suitor clubs would be taking a risk that the players could face lengthy league suspensions if they are found guilty of a criminal offence.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028