Five Sydney Swans players have issued a joint apology after the club suspended them for the rest of the AFL season over their behaviour in Melbourne in the early hours of Monday morning.
Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner said they were “deeply sorry” and accepted the punishment handed down by the club.
“We are deeply sorry to everyone involved. We know that our behaviour has fallen well short of the standards expected of us and the values of our Club,” they said.
They also apologised to their partners and families, teammates, members, supporters, the AFLW team, corporate partners, everyone at the club and the broader community.
“We know we have let down our partners and families, members, supporters, teammates, the AFLW team, corporate partners and everyone at the Club and the wider community,” they said. “We accept the Club sanction and apologise for the impact this has had on those involved.”
The players said their attention would now shift to restoring confidence in them from within the club and beyond.
“Our focus will now be on rebuilding trust with the Club and the community,” they said.
Sydney Swans confirmed Riley Bice, Nick Blakey, Isaac Heeney, James Jordon and Chad Warner had been suspended. The club board determined the five would “not be considered for selection” for the remainder of the season.
The AFL has also ruled the five Sydney players banned by their club for the rest of the season will not be eligible for All-Australian selection when it is finalised next week. On Wednesday, the AFL said Bice, Blakey, Heeney, Jordon and Warner would not be considered when the 46-man squad is announced on Monday evening.
Heeney, Warner and Blakey, all previous All-Australians, had been seen as strong contenders to earn selection again this season on form. Heeney, Warner and Blakey were all named in the 2024 All-Australian side, while Heeney also won selection in 2022 and 2025.
“Following the decision and appropriate club sanction imposed by the Sydney Swans today in relation to the conduct of five of their players, the AFL has determined those players will not be considered for selection in the 2026 All-Australian squad,” the AFL said in a statement.
“This decision is independent of the ongoing Victoria Police investigation.
“The 2026 All-Australian squad will be finalised on Monday 24 August, with the team announced at the AFL Awards on Tuesday 25 August in Melbourne.”
The 2026 AA squad had originally been due to be announced on Tuesday night, but that was pushed back after news of the Swans scandal emerged on Monday. Despite the All-Australian ruling, the five players remain eligible for the 2026 Brownlow Medal, which will be awarded next month. That is in line with previous cases involving bans for incidents unrelated to football, including Adelaide’s Izak Rankine last year, when he was suspended for using a homophobic slur during a game but remained eligible to win the Brownlow.
The incident involved the five players at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel after Sydney’s win over Essendon at the MCG on Sunday night. The Swans have described what happened after the match as a serious breach of the standards expected by the club.
The latest statement from the players came after an earlier apology from chairman Andrew Pridham and chief executive Matthew Pavlich. The Swans had already said they had completed interviews with all players involved in the incident.
The club has also said any further decisions connected to the police investigation would be made after that process is finished.
The Herald Sun has reported that three women have given statements to Victoria Police as detectives investigate an alleged sexual assault. It is understood police are examining allegations involving Heeney as part of that investigation.
Sources close to the investigation have said the players in the room have denied any criminal wrongdoing. Four of the players, Warner, Bice, Jordon and Heeney, have been questioned by police.
