In brief
- Five banned Sydney Swans players will return to club headquarters today.
- The players will attend exit interviews, a routine end-of-season club procedure.
The Sydney Swans AFL club's five suspended players will return to club headquarters on Wednesday, five weeks after being stood down over a late-night hotel incident in Melbourne. It's expected they will address the Swans playing group "at some point".
Swans coach Dean Cox confirmed to reporters that Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice will return to headquarters for end-of-season exit meetings.
Cox arrived at the club's Moore Park base early on Wednesday morning, before Swans chief executive Matthew Pavlich briefly spoke to media.
"Look, it's a natural thing that the players will come into the club over the next period," Pavlich said.
"Don't know exactly when that'll be, given that the season's now finished and player exit meetings are occurring.
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"And the players at some point will have a chat to the broader group and the club, but yeah, there's no timeline."
The exit meetings are routine end-of-season reviews, typically held between club staff and individual players. The Swans' season ended on Friday night when they were beaten by Fremantle in their preliminary final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The five have not been at the club since late 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.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of the five suspended players.
Pavlich wouldn't be drawn on the specifics surrounding the five's return.
Pavlich said of the players' return to the club: "I want them to be themselves. "I want them to come in and do what we'd normally do at the end of a season, which is, yeah, player exit meetings.
"If they've got something to say to their player group, if they've got something to say to the club, then we'll hear them out then."
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
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