![\"Where](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/where-to-get-help-for-sexual-violence-D4NHMC4XK5APVGLIFHXQAGJ6EI.png\")
<\/p>\nSydney has banned five players for the remainder of the AFL season for breaching club standards and behaviours at a Melbourne hotel.<\/p>\n
Several Swans players are under police investigation over an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne in the early hours of Monday morning.<\/p>\n
No charges have been filed. <\/p>\n
Swans players Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner will not be considered for selection again this year.<\/p>\n
“The AFL is supportive of the club’s sanctions,” a Swans statement read.<\/p>\n
“We respect there is an ongoing investigation by Victoria Police and the actions we have taken today are independent of this.”<\/p>\n
Police attended the Pullman after an incident early that morning.<\/p>\n
The Swans stayed at that hotel on Sunday night after their 36-point win over Essendon at the MCG that locked in second place on the ladder and a home qualifying final.<\/p>\n
“Police are investigating a report of a sexual assault in East Melbourne on 17 August,” Victoria Police said in a statement provided to AAP.<\/p>\n
“The incident occurred at a hotel on Wellington Parade in the early hours of the morning.<\/p>\n
“The exact circumstances are yet to be established, and the investigation into the incident remains ongoing.”<\/p>\n
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon on Tuesday released a statement calling for more respect around the allegations.<\/p>\n
Swans chief executive Matthew Pavlich and club chairman Andrew Pridham will face the media at 12pm (local time) on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Dillon said the allegations and the conduct of the Swans players were “deeply concerning”.<\/p>\n
“While the matter remains under police investigation, it raises broader issues for our game and our responsibilities as a sport,” Dillon said.<\/p>\n
“The woman who made the report to police is entitled to privacy and care, and that should be respected.”<\/p>\n
Initially, the players were expected to be sidelined for at least two games while police continued their investigations.<\/p>\n
Heeney, Warner and Blakey are among Sydney’s most important players, while Bice and Jordon have played key roles during the past two seasons.<\/p>\n
The Swans will host North Melbourne at the SCG on Sunday with a barely recognisable team to the one that beat Essendon last week.<\/p>\n
Sydney have locked up second spot on the ladder and are guaranteed two home finals.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Where to get help for sexual violence. (Source: 1News)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sydney has banned five players for the remainder of the AFL season for breaching club standards and behaviours…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573662,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,67,111,139,69,213],"class_list":["post-573661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-australia","tag-crime-and-justice","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}