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The five players who remained in Melbourne during the early stage of the police investigation as the rest of the team returned to Sydney on Monday were: Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and Nick Blakey, plus ex-Demon and tagger James Jordon and mature second year defender Riley Bice.

Instead, the AFL and the club have been examining the conduct of the players before and around the alleged incident, and whether their behaviour fell sufficiently below the standards expected of AFL footballers to warrant sanction under the league’s broad disrepute provisions.

Pavlich did not address any alleged victims in his initial address on Wednesday, but was asked about them by reporters on Wednesday. “We’re deeply concerned about their welfare and the wellbeing of those women, and we offer as much support as we can,” he said, while recognising it would be inappropriate to contact them while there is a police investigation ongoing.

Once the Sydney Swans recognised that there was far more at stake than the team they would field in the 2026 finals series, the decision to ban five key players for the remainder of the season became logical.

Swans players 'sincerely remorseful' over allegations Swans chairman Andrew Pridham has offered a "sincere apology" after and the five players stood down "sincerely remorseful" over sexual assault allegations. You have reached your maximum number of saved items.

There is an ongoing police investigation into a possible sexual assault allegation following events at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel on Sunday night and into Monday morning after the Swans victory over Essendon. The investigation is being handled by Victoria Police’s sexual crimes squad.

The group of five players, who had remained in Melbourne on Monday behind the rest of the team as it travelled back to Sydney, attended separate meetings with senior club and team officials away from Swans headquarters after driving home to NSW.

At no stage have they, or the AFL, disparaged or blamed the women who were in the hotel room when the alleged incident occurred that has led to a police investigation for a possible sexual assault.

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon who had hitherto been silent on the scandal on Tuesday night released a statement that foreshadowed strong action.

The Swans were forced to remain in Melbourne on Sunday night because Sydney Airport’s curfew prevented the team from returning home following its convincing win over Essendon at the MCG.

This masthead is not suggesting any of the players are under investigation by police, just that they are assisting with inquiries.

The players are now facing the prospect of missing not only Sydney’s final home-and-away match against North Melbourne on Sunday, but at least part of the Swans’ finals campaign.