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Sydney Swans midfielder James Rowbottom says he hasn’t spoken to his friend and housemate Nick Blakey about wanting to leave the club.
On Thursday, this masthead reported Blakey has indicated to associates that he wants to be traded at the end of the season following a deterioration in his relationship with the club.
“I haven’t spoken to Nick about any sort of details [about a trade], obviously, it’s been a challenging period for him, and I’m just sort of reaching out as a friend,” Rowbottom said on Friday.
“Living with him is a whole other layer to the situation, and so I’ve reached out as a friend. But no, we haven’t spoken about any of those sort of specifics [on a trade].”
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On August 19, five Swans AFL players – James Jordon, Chad Warner, Isaac Heeney, Riley Bice and Blakey – were stood down for breaching club standards earlier that week, including drinking, staying out late and bringing women back to a Melbourne hotel.
The five have denied any criminal wrongdoing, according to a source with knowledge of the matter. A separate police investigation into an alleged sexual assault is ongoing.
Rowbottom acknowledged the challenge of remaining a close support to housemate Blakey, while also focusing on taking on back-to-back premiers Brisbane at the SCG on Saturday.
“It’s obviously challenging, but everyone’s going through it together. You’ve got to sort of separate the person from the problem when you live with someone to try and offer support, and I’ve been trying to do that,” Rowbottom said.
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“But yeah, we’re working through it and playing footy gives a good release and a sense of normality once you step out there. So we’ll have to do that tomorrow [against Brisbane].”
Rowbottom said the five suspended players had wished the Swans playing group well ahead of Saturday’s game, but the midfielder would not be drawn on when it was appropriate for the five players to be welcomed back to the club.
“It’s a lot more complex than what I think or believe,” he said. “The club is working through that with them [the five suspended players] and the relevant party.”
Rowbottom remains one of the AFL’s best tacklers and will play a significant role in the Swans attempt to upset Brisbane in front of an expected sell-out crowd at the SCG.
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“We’re a system-based team and people step in and play the role, no one needs to be the superstar in a finals game,” he said.
“It’s a team effort, and everyone can execute their role. Especially in finals, it’s a lot more defensive and a lot less flow on the ball throughout a game … So I think everyone that stepped in really has a defensive mindset and we’ll put that to the forefront.”
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Jonathan Drennan is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.AdvertisementAdvertisement