Sydney’s five suspended players have offered an apology to teammates and colleagues after ending their weeks-long exile from the AFL club. Swans vice-captain Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice on Wednesday appeared at Sydney’ base at Moore Park for the first time since being banned for breaching club standards in August. Each individually spoke and apologised to staff and the club’s AFL and AFLW playing lists.
Heeney was the only player after the club meeting to address media, doing so with a brief statement. Only Heeney and Warner spoke to media upon arriving. Warner, flanked by a silent Bice, said he was “just here for my exit interview”.
Asked if he was going to say sorry or anything at all, Warner said: “I don’t know.” Heeney did not answer when he was asked if he had a message to fans. The five have not been at the club since August after they were stood down for breaching club standards following a post-match party at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne. Those suspensions are separate from a police investigation into sexual assault allegations, with Victoria police flagging an update is not expected until late October.
It is understood police are treating Bice as a potential witness in the case while Heeney, Warner, Blakey and Jordon remain part of their investigation. No one has been arrested or charged and the players have reportedly denied any criminal wrongdoing. The Swans’ chief executive, Matthew Pavlich, spoke to reporters earlier on Wednesday and said the club would hear the group out, but wouldn’t be drawn on the specifics surrounding the five’s return.
Asked what he would want the five to say in their address, Pavlich said: “I want them to be themselves.
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