Suspended Sydney Swans player Isaac Heeney has claimed his third consecutive Bob Skilton Medal as the club’s best player, winning the top honour at the 2026 awards function despite his absence.
Heeney chose not to attend the ceremony at Sydney’s Town Hall following a club-imposed suspension for breaching team standards.
Heeney won the award but was absent from the event. AFL Photos via Getty Images
He and four teammates, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon, and Riley Bice, were suspended for the remainder of the 2026 season after partying into the early hours following a victory over Essendon in Melbourne in August.
The players’ suspension for breaching club standards is separate from the police investigation into allegations of sexual assault inside a Pullman East hotel room.
Bice has been cleared by Victoria Police of any wrongdoing, and no charges have been laid against the other four, who have maintained their innocence and denied any criminal wrongdoing.
When tickets for the awards event went live in June, the Bob Skilton medal was described as awarded to “our best and fairest player”. But on Tuesday, the Swans quietly shifted the wording to “the club’s most valuable player” in a social post about the individual awards.
Votes for the Bob Skilton Medal are distributed by the team’s coaching staff based on player performance after every game, with each player eligible to receive up to five votes from a single member of staff.
Of the so-called Pullman Five, Heeney, Warner, Blakey and Jordon all finished in the top 10 in votes for the medal.
Heeney used a video message to accept his award, apologising to his teammates and the wider Swans community.
“When I was told about this honour, it was the first time I smiled and felt positive about the future in a long time,” he said.
“I want to say to everyone – in particular my teammates, the Swans players, the AFLW, and the staff – from the depths of my heart, I’m truly sorry for putting you through the extreme difficulty you’ve had to endure, as it’s had a huge impact on our club.
“Every single day I was away from the club was heartbreaking, knowing that I couldn’t make a contribution. Every single day, I think about what could have been.
“I’m incredibly excited about what this group can do. I can’t wait to get back to training with the boys, get better, and tackle next year together.”
Addressing attendees at Thursday’s awards night, Swans chairman Andrew Pridham said the players involved “strenuously deny the allegations” and deserve the presumption of innocence.
“When our heroes disappoint us, it’s a reminder that our players can make mistakes, as we all know. All of us, in that spirit, have made mistakes at times in our lives, and we must remember that,” Pridham told the room.
“As we know, the players have strenuously denied the allegations. We respect that those in our club and the wider community can be distressed by these things.
“Likewise, we must also acknowledge – and I’ve seen it up close and personal – that our five players and their families are also hurting, and our thoughts must also be with them.
“But let me be equally clear that the decision to allow the players to remain eligible does not diminish our concern and respect for everyone affected. Likewise, the players deserve to have us continue to apply the basic right of the presumption of innocence until fully proven otherwise.”
Despite missing the last three games of the season, Heeney finished with 431 votes as ruckman Brodie Grundy was awarded the Adam Goodes trophy and finished on 400 votes and Charlie Curnow was awarded the Peter Bedford trophy, with 398 votes.