From the dark hours of Pullman shame, Swans produce one of their finest wins

The five suspended Swans were not visible, in any form – physical or on promotional posters and boards – at the SCG for what unexpectedly became the club’s proudest moment since the 2012 grand final.

Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were not in a position to sit in the stands, obviously, as players suspended for striking or bad tackles usually do.

From not long after details of the Pullman Hotel shenanigans began to emerge – via the police swarming the foyer – the AFL had not wanted those five to be seen in the finals series, and within a day and a half, the Swans hierarchy had reached the same conclusion, knowing that the incident went beyond football into the domain of their social license and what they represented to their fans and the broader community.

The five players were suspended by the Swans for the remainder of this season for breaching the club’s behavioural standards. The sanction did not relate to the sexual assault allegations.

So the suspended five were the disappeared, on this afternoon, their absence responsible for the Swans drawing 37,000 rather than the 43,000 or so that one would budget on for a qualifying final against the team that had won the past two premierships and which had been in ominous form.

Henceforth, the inglorious four or so hours at the Pullman hotel after 3am in Melbourne of August 17, and the three glorious hours at the SCG, will be knitted together in a two-part narrative, since one begat the other – the worst and best hours, perhaps, since the Swans became a strong and stable club during the 2000s.

Dane Rampe, the oldest Swan, found it difficult to recall a greater victory than Saturday’s 53-point qualifying final win over the Lions. He had arrived at the club just after the 2012 premiership.

“Yeah, probably not,” said Rampe, when asked if he had played in a better victory, given circumstances. “Yeah, that was a pretty special one. You know, internally we had a quiet belief, and yeah, to go out, and I guess execute the way we did was like … I mean, it’s amazing.”

The Swans had seized momentum from the opening bounce, attacking the ball and opponents with an intensity that bespoke a galvanisation in a crisis.

The upset of the Brisbane Lions might have carried special resonance for Rampe, considering that he is 36 and undecided on whether he continues to play for the Swans and in the competition next year.

Did Rampe wonder, after the suspensions, if he had missed his shot at another premiership?

“Look it does come into the back of your mind, but then at the end of the day, we still got a job to do, and you know we finished second, and… if it wasn’t to happen, then I’ll grieve that at the end of the year.

“But you know while we’re still in with a chance, I’m still hoping, I’m still believing.”

Rampe, as a team leader and a custodian of the culture that had been so feted before August 17, had been in touch with the five. How were they travelling?

“As you expect,” he said.

If the galvanising impact of the Pullman fallout was evident in the fierce response and the career-best performance of Logan McDonald (six goals) and the contributions of replacement youngsters (Harry Kyle, Jesse Dattoli, Tom Hanily), Rampe noted that the situation offered the players a choice.

“I mean, you can go one of two ways,” said the defender, amid the mass hugging in the rooms. “You can let it impact you, or you can try and rally together … and worry about what’s within the four walls. And that’s what we’ve got at the moment. That’s all we can do.”

Skipper Callum Mills, who had fronted the media with senior coach Dean Cox, and presented the better angels of the Bloods following the suspensions, had slid awkwardly in the first quarter on Saturday, incurring a serious knee injury, ratcheting up their degree of difficulty further, and impacting on next season if a torn anterior cruciate ligament is confirmed. Dean Cox called his injury “devastating” for Mills and the club.

But the Swans were not blown off the course that had been set by Cox, who had spent much of the first week after the scandal deep in matters that had noting to do with game plans, match-ups or training.

From what the Swans say, there was a version of compartmentalisation operating at the club – the football department, coaches and players, lowered their eyes, focused on footy and shut out the Pullman problem – which has a long way to run, given the police investigation into allegations of sexual assault may not conclude for weeks or months (no longer involving Bice except as a witness).

The Sydney hierarchy had been confident of a strong performance, having seen the efforts at training and the spirit. “I wasn’t surprised at how we turned up,” said chief executive Matthew Pavlich.

The fallout from the Pullman was handled by the administration, headed by Pavlich and Pridham. In so far as possible, the football program was quarantined and allowed to proceed as normal, albeit without three all-Australians, one of the competition’s premier taggers (Jordan) and a regular in Bice. Emerging gun Justin McInerney was absent with injury as well.

“I guess realistically, it’s been it’s been our thing to manage from the first moment it happened,” said Pavlich, who has also had to navigate relationships with sponsors, head office and, not least, the disappointed ranks of AFLW players.

“Dean and Leon (football boss Leon Cameron) and (ex-player and head of wellbeing) Brett Kirk and you know a lot of our people have been instrumental at taking care of the football side, and the people side as much as they can within the football program.

“But it’s a lot of people have done a lot of hard work … and now we get to playing a prelim’.”

Pavlich could not recall precisely when Cox had detoured out of the Pullman fallout and into pure coaching. “It’s been a blur … the week off certainly helped.”

The investigation is short odds to continue beyond the October trade period, which means that the AFL and Swans and conceivably rival clubs, could be in a situation that the competition hasn’t really confronted before.

Can any of the four (Bice the exception so far) be traded, particularly if charges are laid? Rival clubs are already sniffing opportunity, this masthead having reported Blakey’s dissatisfaction with how he has been handled. But rivals must consider the risks if the investigation stretches beyond the trading window – if they are allowed to acquire any of the four.

The AFL is certain to have a say in whether trades will be permitted, and reserve the right to punish some or all the five further under their own highly discretionary rules (ie: “bringing the game into disrepute”). But, AFL head office are heavily constrained by the legal ramifications and the need to stay out of a police matter until it is resolved.

Craig Drummond, the AFL chairman, has had travails of his own to manage, due to the Jake Kolodjashnij concussion affair (as Geelong president when the player signed a document reducing the club’s risks, without league consent).

On Saturday afternoon at the SCG, Drummond made his first spoken foray in to the Swans’ scandal, in a speech commending the club for its decision to suspend the five, which would strengthen the game. “Football will be stronger,” he said of Sydney’s call.

The AFL boss was speaking before the game, referencing only the Swans’ response to allegations – unproven to this point – from the women who attended the hotel on August 17.

The Sydney players’ response, within an hour of Drummond’s speech, was even stronger.

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Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement