{"id":963547,"date":"2026-11-13T23:42:32","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T23:42:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/963547\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T23:42:32","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T23:42:32","slug":"the-sydney-swans-say-theyll-change-their-culture-review-will-show-how-much","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/963547\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sydney Swans say they\u2019ll change. Their culture review will show how much"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Sydney Swans have long prided themselves on their culture. A club review will test whether that still holds.<\/p>\n

The week that blew up the Swans<\/a><\/p>\n

The Swans scandal is creating a greater conversation about the AFL’s handling of allegations of violence against women.<\/p>\n

On Friday Victoria Police confirmed that no charges would be laid<\/a> over the Pullman hotel investigation because of insufficient evidence, but the club’s own examination of its AFL program, commissioned by the board in early September, is far from over.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the club said it was “committed to acting on the findings and implementing meaningful change to build an environment that players, staff, members, supporters and corporate partners can be proud of”.<\/p>\n

If it is done properly, it will be a confronting review.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

James Jordon, Nick Blakey, Chad Warner and Isaac Heeney will not face criminal charges. (ABC News\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Reform is difficult for any organisation, let alone a winning football club that believes its “Bloods culture” is a defining trait.<\/p>\n

In reality, culture reflects the actions and standards accepted by those in charge.<\/p>\n

Swans chairman Andrew Pridham and chief executive Matthew Pavlich told members in a letter last week the review was underway.<\/p>\n

The review has three phases. Pavlich and another senior club executive will interview all AFL players and staff. The club will also run its usual “annual AFL end of season review”.<\/p>\n

The third is a board-endorsed independent process, led by Natasha de Silva, founder of workplace culture firm Intersection, “to provide advice on the club’s various protocols and programs”.<\/p>\n

Pavlich, an Australian Football Hall of Fame member who played 353 games for Fremantle, is in his first year as a rookie chief executive, seeing the sport from an entirely different perspective.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

Matthew Pavlich (left) and Andrew Pridham hope to have the review done by the year’s end. (Getty Images: Mark Metcalfe)<\/p>\n

It is not clear how far the Swans’ review will reach. The letter from Pridham and Pavlich said the independent phase would involve AFL and AFLW players, staff, commercial teams and “key stakeholders”, but did not say whether it would extend to the club’s executives, board or the academy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Nor has the club said whether the findings will be released. Given the scale of the apology and the trust it says it must rebuild, members will reasonably expect to see them.<\/p>\n

AFLW anger over Swans allegations<\/a><\/p>\n

As the Sydney Swans AFLW side gear up for a historic double header, they have been put under an uncomfortable spotlight through no fault of their own.<\/p>\n

The review is due by the end of the year, but it might be wiser to take longer.<\/p>\n

“Rebuilding trust will not come from our words, but rather our actions,” Pridham and Pavlich have promised.<\/p>\n

The club must also decide how to reintegrate four of the five players it stood down in August<\/a> for breaching club standards: Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon and Riley Bice, who was earlier cleared in the police investigation.<\/p>\n

The fifth, Nick Blakey<\/a>, joined North Melbourne during the trade period and has begun the preseason with his new club. Asked whether the others could return when Swans training resumes, Pavlich said no decision had been made.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been in constant contact with the players through the whole process,” Pavlich said.<\/p>\n

“I think they realise that today’s a moment for them to move forward. It’s a time for everyone to move forward, and at some point they’ll be back here at training and back with their teammates, and that’s going to be an important step.”<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Three of the women involved in the Pullman incident are pursuing civil claims. (ABC News: Danielle Bonica)<\/p>\n

But moving forward may not be simple. Lawyers confirmed on Friday that three women are pursuing civil claims related to the allegations, and lawyers for two of them say their claim is against the club.<\/p>\n

Asked about the civil proceedings at his press conference on Friday, Pavlich said any future issue would be dealt with “as it comes”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Sydney Swans have long prided themselves on their culture. A club review will test whether that still…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":963548,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,93778,85,7200],"class_list":["post-963547","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-pullman-hotel","tag-sports","tag-sydney-swans"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963547","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=963547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/963547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/963548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=963547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=963547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=963547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}