Victoria Police announced on Friday afternoon that four Sydney Swans players would face no criminal charges over an alleged sexual assault at Melbourne’s Pullman Hotel.
A police spokesperson said investigators had found insufficient evidence to proceed, but declined to comment further because civil proceedings remain ongoing.
The women involved are continuing with lawsuits through personal injury lawyers. Even so, the police decision brings a major chapter of one of the AFL’s most serious scandals to a close, with investigators effectively clearing the players of the sexual assault allegations made against them.
For three months, DailyMail+ has reported each major twist in the case. Now, we present the definitive account of what sources familiar with the events say happened.
August 16, 2026 – Swans defeat Essendon
Sydney’s victory over Essendon at the MCG was followed by a late-night gathering at the Pullman East Melbourne, where the team was staying.
DailyMail+ has spent three months reporting every major development in the Sydney Swans scandal. We now reveal the definitive account from sources familiar with the events. (Pictured: Isaac Heeney and his former fiancée Steffie Waters)
After beating Essendon at the MCG, Sydney’s players gathered late at the Pullman East Melbourne (pictured), where the team had been staying
Police will not charge Sydney Swans players Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon or former teammate Nick Blakey after investigating the alleged incident
Because of Sydney Airport’s curfew restrictions, the players could not return home and were forced to remain in Melbourne overnight.
The celebrations began quietly. Players and staff went to dinner in Richmond, then continued to the Harlow pub on Church Street.
Coaches stayed until around midnight before leaving. A group of about 11 players allegedly carried on at Maeve Fox, where they were seen taking shots.
Later, a smaller group decided to continue drinking at the hotel.
The early hours of August 17
According to a source familiar with the night, one player booked two adult entertainers through the Party Girls Melbourne agency, supplying identification and a deposit.
Three women ultimately arrived after one of the booked performers brought a friend who was reportedly considering entering the industry.
The evening initially proceeded without incident, the source said.
The celebrations began with dinner in Richmond before the team moved on to the Harlow pub on Church Street
The booking was described as routine until one of the entertainers began to feel unwell. (Stock image posed by a model)
The source said the men told the women they worked as carpenters.
Believing they were tradesmen rather than highly paid footballers, the women allegedly agreed to a fee of $200 each for lap-dance performances. The usual rate was reportedly $250 to $300, in addition to the agency fee.
‘They told the girls they were carpenters working in the area,’ the source said.
Because of that, ‘the girls agreed to charge $200 each for a lap dance performance for all the men,’ the source added.
‘Each girl performed to one song and moved around the group.’
‘It was late, they did not think the men earned much and they wanted to finish the job and leave, so they offered them a deal.’
The men paid immediately, and some physical contact was permitted during the dances, according to the source.
Some of the men were allegedly ‘wasted’, swaying and struggling to remain steady as the women performed.
At one point, a woman told the players they would need to pay more if they wanted to touch the dancers. ‘One man agreed to pay another $50 to slap her backside three times,’ the source said.
‘Another player was barefoot and appeared to want to touch them with his feet.’ The Mail does not suggest that this conduct was improper or non-consensual.
A Daily Mail investigation has detailed claims about what the three women were hired to do, as well as the agreed fee for a group lap-dance performance. (Above: a general view of a room at the Pullman East Melbourne)
The situation reportedly changed after one woman entered the hallway while partly dressed, prompting panic among the players. (Above: a general view of a Pullman East Melbourne hallway)
The booking was described as uncomplicated until one of the women became ill. There is no suggestion that any of the men caused her symptoms.
Feeling faint, she went into the eighth-floor corridor while partially dressed. The players became concerned that other guests would discover they were hosting a late-night party involving strippers.
Her father believed she had suffered an asthma attack. However, a source familiar with the incident told the Mail that something else may have caused the episode.
‘She felt sick during the party and believes it may have been carbon dioxide poisoning because so many people were packed into one room and there was not enough fresh air,’ the source claimed.
Elevated carbon dioxide can theoretically cause illness in a crowded, poorly ventilated room, although serious cases are considered uncommon and are more often linked to confined spaces with restricted airflow.
Whatever caused her distress, the incident intensified when she opened the door, leaned topless into the corridor and searched for fresh air. The atmosphere inside the room changed immediately, the source said.
‘All five players were well known, and some were in relationships,’ the source said.
Heeney was photographed with former fiancée Steffie Waters at the AFL Awards in August last year
‘They did not want to be seen drinking in a hotel room with strippers during the football season because they had so much to lose.’
The source said an argument followed when the men asked the dancer to return inside and get dressed. She put on a hotel dressing gown and left the room, eventually sitting on the floor near the lifts.
At that point, another Swans player was walking along the corridor. The source suggested he may not have been among the five players later linked to the incident.
‘He saw her and asked whether she was all right,’ the source said.
‘He was shocked when she explained that some men had booked her for a party. He helped her to her feet and escorted her back to the room.’
The morning of August 17
After the booking ended, the three women went downstairs. The earlier medical episode soon drew further attention.
In the lobby, the woman who had gone into the corridor said she felt dizzy and was struggling to breathe. She tried an asthma inhaler, although it is unclear whether it belonged to her or had been provided by someone else.
The source alleged that she became increasingly noticeable, waving her arms and repeatedly entering and leaving the hotel in search of fresh air.
Her friend returned to the room upstairs to collect belongings left behind during the party.
As more Swans players and staff arrived in the lobby, the friend came back from the eighth floor and realised why the group dubbed the ‘Pullman Five’ had been so determined to keep the gathering private: they were professional footballers.
The women then confronted a club official. Earlier reports identified that representative as coach Dean Cox, who has not been accused of wrongdoing.
In an extraordinary moment, a woman who appeared unaware of the unfolding drama approached Isaac Heeney. With his hood pulled over his head, he was asked to pose for a photograph with her child.
The women confronted a club official in the lobby. Earlier reports identified him as coach Dean Cox, who is not accused of any wrongdoing
This viral WhatsApp message purported to depict the tense scene in the Pullman East lobby on the morning of August 17
Heeney agreed, but asked her not to use the flash, according to the source.
The photograph also captured one of the women in the background as she argued with a club official, although the mother did not know what was happening.
As the unusual scene unfolded, other guests began watching. At least one person took a photograph in the lobby, which was later shared widely on WhatsApp.
‘I’m at the Pullman in Melbourne and three girls [are] being kicked out… One of them said to the guy, “We have everything recorded”,’ the viral message read.
The women contacted their agent and police and were eventually asked to leave the hotel, according to the source.
The confrontation was followed the next day by serious allegations.
Two of the women lodged police complaints alleging sexual assault. A third woman made a similar report later that week.
What happened after the incident
Police investigated the complaints for three months. No charges will be laid because investigators determined there was insufficient evidence, following legal advice.
Heeney was the first player to speak publicly after the announcement and said he welcomed the police decision.
‘The past three months have been incredibly difficult for my family, Steffie and everyone close to me. Seeing my family carry the weight of this has been heartbreaking,’ he said in a statement released through his lawyers.
‘To my family and friends, your love and loyalty have meant more than I can put into words.
‘To everyone who never doubted me and stood beside me, thank you. I know your support has not been easy amid such intense public scrutiny, and I will never forget it.
Heeney, pictured in Maroubra on October 8, was the first player to welcome the police decision after the group was cleared
Heeney’s friend Nicola Kegel sent him this supportive message in September while the police inquiry was continuing. She later posted his reply on X
The Mail independently confirmed that Kegel had previously lived near Heeney in Maroubra and was registered at the same apartment complex where he currently resides
‘To everyone at the Sydney Swans — my teammates, coaches, board, sponsors, members and fans — thank you for continuing to believe in me.
‘The Swans have allowed me to fulfil a childhood dream. I am determined to repay that faith by being the best person and player I can be.’
Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were stood down by the club for the remainder of the 2026 season because they attended the party. Those club sanctions were separate from the police inquiry.
Police later cleared Bice, who was treated only as a witness. Heeney and the other players were cleared on Friday morning.
Before Heeney released his formal statement, a former neighbour sent him a supportive WhatsApp message about the scandal in September and later shared his response on X.
Heeney replied: ‘I’m not going to say much, but this is completely f***ed up! Sorry for the language. Appreciate the message.’
The Swans did not challenge the message’s authenticity. However, the club said Heeney had been responding to a lengthy message that covered multiple subjects and not necessarily to the women’s allegations themselves.
The WhatsApp rumours that were debunked
Unverified claims shared in private WhatsApp groups played a major role in fuelling speculation about the Pullman incident.
Many of those claims were false and were quickly disproved.
One message claimed that all of the players were ‘in custody’. In reality, none had been arrested and they spoke voluntarily with police before driving back to Sydney.
Another WhatsApp post included a graphic image of a woman with a facial injury and falsely linked it to the hotel gathering. The Mail established that the photograph came from an unrelated news report published months earlier.
Unverified WhatsApp messages circulated a series of extraordinary claims about what allegedly happened after the Swans defeated Essendon on August 16
A graphic photograph shared on WhatsApp was exposed as unrelated to the scandal
There were also rumours that the dancers had filmed the lap dances. No footage has been publicly authenticated, and the claim appears to be unfounded
In other words, the claim was a hoax.
Other screenshots made bizarre allegations that a woman taunted one of the players with insects, triggering an argument that damaged the hotel, while another player supposedly accepted bets on the disturbance.
None of those claims was true, despite the messages being forwarded thousands of times during the week after the scandal emerged.
There were also allegations that the dancers had installed cameras to record the lap dances. No such footage has been publicly verified, and the claim does not appear to be true.
The alleged secret recording
In the days following the Pullman party, a private conversation between the three dancers was allegedly recorded without their knowledge.
The Daily Mail later identified Oliver Swan, who was living with one of the women, as the man suspected of making the recording. When approached, Swan said he was confused by the suggestion and declined to comment.
Victorian law allows a participant in a private conversation to record it without informing the other people involved. There is no suggestion that Swan acted unlawfully or improperly.
He is suspected of informing the Sydney Swans that the audio existed, rather than providing the club with a copy.
Melbourne businessman Oliver Swan was living with one of the women hired for the Pullman party. He is suspected of making a secret recording before alerting the Swans that it existed
The club then notified the AFL Integrity Unit, which referred the information to Victoria Police.
Detectives seized a recording during a search of a Melbourne property in early September.
The audio was reportedly presented to the players as possible evidence that could clear them, but Daily Mail reporting indicated it was far from the definitive ‘smoking gun’ some had expected.
The contents have not been made public. A friend of the women said they could not remember exactly what they had discussed or what the recording captured.
‘The days afterwards are a blur in terms of what they said to whom. They made police statements, met their civil lawyers, spoke with friends and talked to media,’ the friend said.
‘So they cannot be completely certain about everything that was said.
‘But their flatmate allegedly recorded them secretly and later contacted the Swans about it.’
What happens next?
The three women later instructed personal injury law firms Carbone Lawyers and Slater and Gordon.
Their civil claims are separate from the criminal investigation and remain active. The existence of those claims does not establish that any player is guilty; it means only that allegations have been made and are being pursued through the civil process.
A spokesperson for Slater and Gordon said its client was ‘devastated’ by the outcome of the criminal investigation.
The scandal also ended Heeney’s engagement.
Heeney’s fiancée Steffie Waters appeared distressed while on the phone in Noosa on August 21. She was later photographed looking happier during a beach outing
Influencer Steffie Waters called off the wedding after weeks in which, friends told the Daily Mail, Heeney tried to repair their relationship.
People close to Waters said she could not forgive his decision to attend a party with strippers. They described it as a breach of trust, a personal judgment separate from the allegations examined by police.
A source close to Heeney said on Friday that the pair had not reunited but remained on friendly terms.
How DailyMail+ reported the major Swans stories
Thousands subscribed for DailyMail+’s exclusive coverage of the Pullman scandal. New to DailyMail+? Here are the major investigations you may have missed.
‘There were a lot of drugs’: Sydney Swans stripper boss speaks out after a dancer claimed she ended a frantic 8am hotel lobby call before trying to discredit her in a WhatsApp group
Inside the explosive WhatsApp messages about the alleged Sydney Swans hotel incident: the claims that were false and the graphic photograph that went viral
I still have the late-night messages a Sydney Swans figure sent after inviting me home despite being engaged. Why the club’s latest scandal did not surprise me: LUCY MANLY
What the Sydney Swans dancers were paid, the discounted lap-dance deal and the half-dressed hallway drama that triggered panic: the untold AFL hotel story
What a Sydney Swans dancer believes caused her medical episode, how the hotel party descended into chaos and the AFL player who came to her aid as the ‘Pullman Five’ panicked
What police found in the Sydney Swans recording seized during the investigation. Players were told it could be the ‘smoking gun’ that cleared them. The reality was more complicated: JONICA BRAY
Sydney Swans players allegedly filmed by dancers during hotel scandal as new WhatsApp claims emerge: THE GROUP CHAT
‘The worst month of her life’: Dancer at the centre of the Sydney Swans scandal hospitalised twice amid fears over secret recordings, a smear campaign and leaked personal details
Sydney Swans dancers uncover the ‘ultimate betrayal’: new details about the secret recording at the centre of the scandal and the friend suspected of leaking audio to AFL officials
Housemate identified after the ‘ultimate betrayal’ of Sydney Swans dancers: businessman and AFL supporter suspected of making the secret recording later seized by police
Inside Isaac Heeney’s unsuccessful attempt to save his relationship after the Sydney Swans scandal, as former fiancée Steffie Waters leaves the country
Sydney Swans star Isaac Heeney dumped by fiancée Steffie Waters: the ‘betrayal’ she could not forgive and what happened after she removed him from Instagram: ‘He was the love of her life’
Isaac Heeney’s fiancée removes her engagement ring and makes an emotional phone call after travelling to Noosa amid the Sydney Swans hotel scandal: exclusive pictures and video raise questions over their future
Inside Isaac Heeney’s leaked WhatsApp exchange about the hotel scandal: the Sydney Swans’ response to the viral messages and our confirmation of the sender’s connection to the player
