Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan doesn’t expect Sydney’s sexual assault investigation to be resolved quickly and says the “difficult” situation should remind AFL players of the behaviour expected of them.
Several Swans players are under investigation over an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne in the early hours of Monday morning.
Sydney coach Dean Cox and chief executive Matthew Pavlich have already expressed disappointment with the club and the AFL are considering whether to stand down the players.
The news has rocked second-placed Sydney, one of this year’s premiership fancies, ahead of the AFL finals.
Reigning premiership coach Fagan was asked about the news at his press conference on Tuesday.
“It’s something I don’t really want to comment about,” Fagan said.
“I’m glad it’s not us. I wouldn’t like to be in their shoes, but there’s so many facts and things to be revealed and investigated that it would be unfair to talk about that.
“I mean, the ideal scenario for them would be that there’s nothing to see, and it’ll be all wrapped up within a week. I suspect that’s not going to be the case.
“So it’s going to be a difficult situation for them to manage their way through and I’m just glad that we’re not in that situation.
“The whole thing is just a good reminder to every AFL player at every club about the standards of behaviour that we’re expecting.”
Geelong assistant coach and former Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley stressed the seriousness of the alleged incident.
“But the other side of it, the footy side, it’s a terrible situation for Sydney or those players,” Buckley told Fox Footy.
“The decisions they’ve made, whether legal or otherwise – we’re talking about the decisions to go out – that have put their teammates, and the club and the game into disrepute.
“Whether legal decisions or illegal decisions or otherwise, allegedly, that’s going to be something that they have to account for.”
The Swans have already locked in a home qualifying final ahead of their final regular-season match against North Melbourne at the SCG on Sunday.
But four-time premiership Hawk Jordan Lewis believes Sydney can no longer win the flag with the investigation hanging over the club.
“My honest opinion? You put a line through them,” Lewis said on Fox Footy.
“I don’t think you can come back (from) an instance of this nature, and this serious to then push it to the side and become a premiership team in 2026.
“They’re too hard to win and you need everything to go right.
“But this will be going on in the background. We understand that stuff will happen in the next couple of days, but there’s still this ongoing investigation that’s hanging over the head of everyone that’s involved.
“So, from a footballing perspective, 2026 is done.”
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
