Sydney believes it may have to trade out some members of the ‘Pullman Five’ in order to reset the club’s culture, drawing comparisons to West Coast after its mid-2000s controversies.
Code Sports reports Swans are aware rival clubs will make plays for Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice after they were suspended for breaching the club’s behavioural standards following the post-Round 23 celebration at Melbourne’s Pullman Hotel.
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Their stand-downs were separate from the Victoria Police investigation into a sexual assault allegation emerging from the night. It was reported on Tuesday that Victoria Police detectives will seek to interview players this week.
Foxfooty.com.au is not suggesting any of the men in the room engaged in the conduct alleged, only that it has been alleged. No formal police interviews, at this stage, have taken place, nor have any charges been laid in relation to the alleged sexual assault.
But inevitably the situation has seen rival clubs consider whether they can more cheaply acquire the players, while also weighing up the cultural impacts should they do so.
“There is a growing internal belief the Swans will need to move on one or more of those players to make profound change,” Jon Ralph and Lauren Wood’s report states.
The five players won’t attend Saturday’s qualifying final at the SCG and the progress of the police investigation is likely to determine their immediate football futures.
“Sydney knows its rivals will come for its banned players at absolute warp speed,” Ralph said on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle.
“It’s faced with an impossible decision. It’s my understanding they’re coming to the realisation they might have to move on some of those players to make profound cultural change. And to signify how much they’re prepared to change, it’ll almost take a step back from a performance point of view.
“West Coast almost did that – they pulled back on those on-field performances, so much of the cultural stuff, and this might be a similar move.”
The Eagles suffered a number of off-field controversies during the mid-2000s, most notably sacking Brownlow medallist Ben Cousins.
“But if Sydney does consider those change it knows it’s taking cents on the dollar; it knows those rival clubs will effectively be vultures, picking over its carcass, of its very best players,” Ralph continued.
“It’s a complete no-win situation. I’ve spoken to a number of directors from rival clubs today; their view is they’d need to see any police action or inaction worked through and then they’d consider whether to make a trade.
“If you’re West Coast and you wanted Chad Warner a year early; you think about Daisy Pearce, your AFLW coach who spoke so eloquently about the culture this club is building and the culture it wants. How can a club that’s done so much to progress its culture take these types of risks? It’s a massive decision for the AFL.”
