Dejected Swans premiership coach makes glaring \u2018culture\u2019 concession<\/a><\/p>\n“Deep sadness” Longmire speaks on Swans | 07:45<\/p>\n
\u201cOur conversation begins with the acknowledgment of the primacy of the sexual assault investigation,\u201d Whateley said. \u201cThe women who made the complaint to police have now provided statements.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd as Andrew Dillon led last night, the alleged victim is entitled to privacy and care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Melbourne champion and AFL 360 co-host Garry Lyon added: \u201cThere\u2019s a much bigger story that unfolds here. And as you rightly pointed out, the privacy of those that are involved has to be respected here.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the footy stuff is what we\u2019re focused on tonight, and they\u2019re in a mess. They\u2019re in a godawful mess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018THIS HIT WITH A MASSIVE THUD\u2019<\/p>\n
The severity of the Swans\u2019 sanctions looms as a defining moment for the club.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s particularly noteworthy given Sydney, after Sunday night\u2019s win over Essendon, locked itself into second on the AFL ladder, putting it in a promising position to claim its first flag since 2012.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you were in any doubt as to the attitude of the Sydney Swans toward the actions of its players, that was exploded when the sanctions landed,\u201d Whateley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you do judge an organisation by the way it responds to crisis, the way it responds to an incident, Sydney lived its values. The culture that they believe is instilled in that organisation over a long period of time was their guiding principle today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey put aside their premiership quest from second on the ladder and did the right thing because it was the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Banned Swans out of All Aus contention | 00:19<\/p>\n
Lyon said there\u2019d been a sense in previous eras that clubs and the competition would be reluctant to make decisions that significantly hurt footy prospects and endeavours. But that was not the case with the Swans this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a cynical element of society \u2013 with probably good reason over the journey \u2013 that we\u2019re watching on here to see how this would fall,\u201d Lyon said. \u201cAnd in years gone by, I don\u2019t think there\u2019s any doubt that clubs and the competition have erred on the side of conservative and what\u2019s good for the game and the player.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot the case here. This hit with a massive thud.\u201d<\/p>\n
PREMIERSHIP PUSH \u2018UNDERMINED\u2019<\/p>\n
As Whateley pointed out on Wednesday night: \u201cNot since Essendon was removed from the finals in 2013 has there been something comparable like this on the cusp of finals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The immediate footy ramifications are clearly significant.<\/p>\n
Of the five players stood down, three are ranked in the top 20 of the AFL, according to Champion Data: Heeney at No.1, Warner at No.8 and Blakey at No.19.<\/p>\n
While acknowledging it\u2019s clearly not the primary issue of the situation, Whateley said the timing couldn\u2019t have been worse for the Swans.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe selfishness and the stupidity are going to undermine all the effort that\u2019s gone into building second place on the ladder,\u201d Whateley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHome finals, qualifying finals, potentially preliminary finals \u2013 and for some, maybe the last tilt at such a hard-fought premiership. For others, their first look at it in any meaningful way.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then it\u2019s undone by the pure selfishness and stupidity of five players.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘Ashamed’ Swans bosses front media | 18:50<\/p>\n
Lyon said rival clubs would\u2019ve been preparing specifically for the threat posed by the star players who\u2019ve just been ruled out for the rest of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019re talking about the highest-rated footballer in the game today, (Heeney)\u201d Lyon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they prepare for a game, they prepare for what they\u2019re going to do with Heeney, what they\u2019re going to do with Warner and who Jordon goes to. They\u2019re some of the earliest decisions that they\u2019re going to have to make. Opposition teams are worrying about Nick Blakey.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd they don\u2019t have to worry about him now, because they\u2019re not going to play again for the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the Swans to enter the finals series in second spot \u2013 without five key players \u2013 they\u2019ll host the third-placed team in a qualifying final at the SCG. That opponent will be decided this weekend, with Brisbane and Hawthorn well placed to land the spot and the much-improved Melbourne an outside chance.<\/p>\n
If the Swans lose their first final, they\u2019d face the winner of the second elimination final (6th v 7th). Geelong is likely to host the elimination final, with Adelaide and Carlton the wildcard teams who could advance to play the Cats.<\/p>\n
Lyon said Sydney\u2019s status would remain clear in the eyes of its finals opponents, but conceded the challenge would look significantly different.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey will be looking at Sydney as still the second-highest rated team and they\u2019ll deal with whatever confronts them,\u201d Lyon said.<\/p>\n
Swans bombshell as sanctions delivered | 02:22<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can speculate \u2013 and the harsh, stark reality is that that first qualifying final up in Sydney is nothing like it was last Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n
THE DAMAGE TO FANS<\/p>\n
Pridham on Wednesday began his press conference with an apology to the community and then the Swans\u2019 fan base.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whateley said supporters were \u201cdesperately hurt, disillusioned and betrayed\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you think about the energies that the fans pour into their club, the loyalty, the money, the love and the experiences that are involved in that \u2013 and to have it sabotaged by a handful of players just as it was reaching a moment of potential climax? That\u2019s going to take a while to restore as well, I think,\u201d Whateley said.<\/p>\n
Lyon said the emotional connection between supporters and their club meant the damage would extend well beyond the football field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe extension of your family becomes your footy club. That\u2019s how primal it is for AFL footy and other sports around the world. You invest like you do in your family \u2013 and then you get let down like this, it rips your heart and soul out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only are you dealing with the behaviours, but the extension of this is how your footy club is going to be perceived \u2013 and the Sydney Swans are no longer perceived as one of the best organisations in the competition. There\u2019s a grubbiness attached to them right now \u2013 and that\u2019s felt through the supporter base.\u201d<\/p>\n
‘We’ve completely missed the point here’ | 01:59<\/p>\n
Lyon said the consequences would also be felt across the Swans\u2019 wider organisation, including staff and the AFLW team.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd then you\u2019ve got to go to the supporters, and you\u2019re asking the supporters: \u2018Are you coming? Can you commit? Can you buy tickets?\u2019 Shocking, compromised position to be in for doing nothing other than committing wholeheartedly to a football club \u2013 and now you stand by and have to deal with the consequence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
THE BLOODS CULTURE QUESTION<\/p>\n
Perhaps the biggest long-term question is what the incident says about the Swans\u2019 famous culture.<\/p>\n
Lyon said the club\u2019s reputation would now come under intense scrutiny.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere will be questions that get associated with it in terms of: Have we been reading this football club right over a period of time? And I think they\u2019re real questions,\u201d Lyon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was a team that we put on a pedestal from afar \u2026 From where we sat, it was always \u2018Bloods culture, best practices, no-dickhead policy\u2019 \u2013 all that\u2019s out the window and being questioned strongly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s former players who were at the cornerstone of establishing what they then-termed the \u2018Bloods culture\u2019 and were absolutely pivotal to putting the tenets in place of what is going to be acceptable and what\u2019s not accepted at this footy club \u2026 Some of those people are still there in an official capacity. They\u2019d be looking at them (the five players) going: \u2018How much of this work has been undone on the basis of what\u2019s happened the past three days?\u2019 And I\u2019d suggest all of it. They\u2019re going back to square one.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is not the conversation for now, but part of that will be asking questions of your leaders about whether these guys fit into this football club going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whateley, meanwhile, urged caution around drawing conclusions about the entire club from the actions of five players.<\/p>\n
Do the Swans have a culture problem? | 01:42<\/p>\n
\u201cThe distinction was made today between the staff and the coaches who had a late dinner and then went out for a few drinks and how that was, I suspect, the intention of the night and what these players did, which was far beyond what had been anticipated and what would be accepted,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have to be mature adults about that and go: \u2018OK, so one is perfectly understandable. Late dinner and drinks is one thing, what these players did is something else.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s the question: What sort of environment left these senior players feeling unable to behave in such a way?\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyon suggested \u201ca sense of entitlement\u201d could develop among some players over time \u201cif you\u2019re not on top of these things\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou take liberties and you take another liberty and maybe you\u2019re out of sight of what is a much more intense environment (in Melbourne) from a footy point of view down here and you get away with a bit more,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen you take a few more liberties and all of a sudden, you think you\u2019re much bigger than you are \u2013 and that leads to the sorts of behaviours.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know where it goes from here, from a cultural point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE FIVE PLAYERS?<\/p>\n
An intriguing aspect to Wednesday\u2019s presser was how Sydney\u2019s hierarchy didn\u2019t rule out some of the stood-down players leaving the club next year.<\/p>\n
Asked if the quintet would play again for the club, Pridham said: \u201cWe just have to wait and see what happens going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Academy products Blakey (2031) and Heeney (2029) are on significant long-term contracts. There were reports earlier this year the Swans were keen to extend Heeney\u2019s deal, but it\u2019s almost certain any new Heeney deal talks would be on the backburner now.<\/p>\n
Bice at the start of this year extended his contract at Sydney until the end of 2028, while Jordon has one more year left on his deal. As The Age\u2019s Jake Niall pointed out<\/a>, the \u201cexpedient, well-trod path would be to jettison one or two of the lesser players\u201d, while retaining the star players, to make a statement to the rest of Swans\u2019 list. But Niall added the fact all five players received the same punishment indicated the Swans \u201cdid not follow the old-school script\u201d.<\/p>\nSwans in damage control over incident | 06:25<\/p>\n
The biggest watch, though, is Warner, who\u2019s contracted until the end of 2027. After resisting a move home to WA last year and re-signing with the Swans on a short-term deal, Warner will again be eligible for free agency at the end of next year.<\/p>\n
7News Melbourne\u2019s Tom Morris on Wednesday night suggested it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise if the Swans \u201clook at a deal now (for Warner), knowing they\u2019d get more for him this year than they will next year as a free agent\u201d.<\/p>\n
Lyon said \u201ca very real conversation (is) going to be had\u201d around the futures of all five players.<\/p>\n
Asked how the five players would fare walking back into that locker room, Lyon said: \u201cWell that is to be decided down the track, but I would be surprised if they\u2019re all there.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know how it works, we\u2019re not stupid, but I don\u2019t think in this instance, the fact that you\u2019re the best player or the third-best player or the fifth-best player is necessarily going to save you in the manner that it has in years gone by.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was always rules for some \u2013 and maybe this is the problem \u2013 and that the very pointy-end players get away with a lot more than the ones down the bottom. I know that, I experienced that. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to save them this time.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a really hard decision and one that, based on what we see today, the Sydney Swans aren\u2019t going to shy away from.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney entered the final fortnight of the home and away season with genuine flag hopes and two home…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861432,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-861431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861431","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861431"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861431\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861431"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861431"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861431"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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