Source :- THE AGE NEWS
At least one of the women at the centre of the Sydney Swans alleged sexual assault investigation has returned to Victoria Police in recent days to provide a further statement about what unfolded at the Pullman Hotel last month.
A source close to the women and another source connected to the investigation, neither of whom are authorised to speak publicly, told this masthead that one of the women who was engaged by the players as a topless waitress in one of the player’s rooms had now provided fresh details on the morning’s events to police.
The supplementary statement follows the police seizure of a recording of the three women taken in the days after the alleged sexual assaults recounting what had occurred in the Pullman room in the pre-dawn hours of August 17 and later that morning in the hotel lobby, where other club officials including senior coach Dean Cox and head of football Leon Cameron encountered the women.
The woman’s statement also follows the provision of statements by some of the five Swans players who were in the hotel room where each of the three women have variously alleged they were sexually assaulted and touched inappropriately without consent.
The hotel room incident unfolded after a night of wild partying by the players after the team won in round 23 on Sunday, August 16, against Essendon at the MCG.
AFL chairman Craig Drummond yesterday told a sports conference that the league had zero tolerance for poor behaviour from players and administrators.
Detectives from Victoria Police last week travelled to NSW to conduct voluntary interviews with the players, some of whom declined to speak with police.
Four of the five players – Issac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey and James Jordan – remain persons of interest in the police investigation. Each of the players has engaged his own lawyer to handle the investigation.
Three other men in the room, including fifth current Swans player Riley Bice, recently retired Swan Taylor Adams and another mystery man, are now considered to be witnesses to the pre-dawn events.
This masthead this week revealed that the five suspended Sydney Swans players, all of whom have denied criminal wrongdoing, will have to foot their own substantial legal fees for their roles in the Pullman hotel episode.
Under the rules governing the AFL’s salary cap, neither the club nor people closely associated with the club are allowed to pay for any of the players’ costs defending criminal charges or civil proceedings flowing from the hotel room events. Each of the three women have engaged lawyers to assist in possible civil legal action against the players over their alleged conduct.
The five players were suspended by the Sydney Swans for the remainder of the 2026 AFL season for breaches of the club’s behavioural standards. The sanctions do not relate to any criminal allegations.
Chairman of the Swans Andrew Pridham, who has been a director of the club for 24 years and head of the board for 13 years, said the suspension of the players had effectively torpedoed the Swans’ season.
In defiance of those expectations, the team won last weekend against the Brisbane Lions to now advance to a preliminary final to be played in two weekends’ time. A win in that match will see the beleaguered club book a place in the grand final.
Victoria Police said last week they did not expect to provide another update on the unfolding Pullman investigation for eight weeks. When contacted for comment concerning the provision of fresh statements by at least one of the women a spokesperson said, “we are not providing a running commentary on the investigation”.
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