Sydney Swans won’t be staying at Melbourne hotel linked to police probe if they reach AFL Grand Final without five suspended stars

The Sydney Swans will stay at a different Melbourne hotel if the team reaches the AFL Grand Final. 

The club is preparing for a potential premiership campaign with five players remaining suspended, after what the club described as breaches of team standards.

The Como in South Yarra will accommodate the winner of Friday night’s preliminary final between Sydney and Fremantle, according to the Herald Sun.

That means the Swans would not return to the Pullman in East Melbourne, where police launched an investigation into claims of sexual assault last month.

However, it remains unclear whether Sydney specifically sought to avoid the Pullman as the club also stayed at the Como during its 2024 Grand Final campaign. 

Brisbane, meanwhile, plans to retain the Pullman as its Melbourne base if it beats Hawthorn in Saturday’s other preliminary final. The Lions have used the hotel during their recent premiership campaigns. 

Speculation about Sydney’s accommodation arrangements comes as the club stands one win from the decider, despite losing five players to season-ending suspensions and captain Callum Mills to injury.

Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were suspended for breaches of club standards, which, according to club officials, included late-night drinking and allegedly bringing dancers to their hotel rooms. 

Meanwhile, police have interviewed Heeney, Warner, Blakey and Jordon in relation to claims of an alleged sexual assault. 

Bice is being treated as a witness and is no longer a person of interest, according to the report. 

The players deny criminal wrongdoing and no charges have been laid. The club’s disciplinary action is separate from the police investigation. 

On the field, Sydney responded to its personnel losses by beating Brisbane by 53 points in the qualifying final earlier this month. 

Tom Papley kicked five goals in the victory, which secured a week off and a home preliminary final against Fremantle at the SCG. 

The win came despite Mills leaving the game in the first quarter. Veteran defender Dane Rampe has since been appointed stand-in captain. 

Papley said the squad had already learned to cope with major absences.

‘Like we fielded five others on the weekend, it’s next man up,’ he told The Age.

‘Would love for him to be out there, but it’s a squad mentality, and someone’s got to step up and fill his role.’

Papley believes the performance against Brisbane showed Sydney still has the firepower to challenge for the premiership.

‘I’m confident [that] if we play like we did on the weekend, we could beat anyone.’

He also praised the contribution of less experienced teammates, highlighting an effort from 21-year-old Tom Hanily that was recognised during a team meeting.

‘He ran 50 metres to give someone a high five,’ Papley said.

‘They’re the little things that we love. He’s only played 10 games and for him to do that, and reward other players, it was just fantastic to see.’

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