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The Swans said they believe the players “are in serious breach of expected club behaviour and standards”, foreshadowing “firm action”. They made plain that sanctions would be entirely separate from the police investigation, which is ongoing, with no arrests or charges laid.

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.

Police attended the hotel on Monday after receiving a report of an alleged 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.

No player has been arrested and the AFL’s disciplinary action does not make any finding in relation to the allegation that remains under investigation by detectives from Victoria Police’s Sexual Crimes Squad.

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.

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.

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.

The mechanic was pioneered in Australia by the NRL in 2019. That code applies a strict stand down policy in cases where a player is charged with a crime punishable by 11 years or more in jail, as well as a discretionary power in cases of violence against women.

This masthead has contacted the representatives of Isaac Heeney, Riley Bice, James Jordon and Chad Warner after two senior industry sources said they were spoken to by police after an allegation of sexual assault in the early hours of Monday morning.

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.