Source :- THE AGE NEWS
For the past week, shattered supporters of the Sydney Swans have been processing their complicated feelings, digesting their mixed emotions, trying to figure out where to put all these broken, jagged little pieces.
On Sunday, the best answer anyone’s come up with thus far presented itself at the SCG: here. Put it here. Bring it all to the ground and we’ll sort through it together.
In times of trauma, it can help to be with other people. So, on a glorious Sydney afternoon, the broad church that is the Swans’ fan base – sad, angry, hurt, confused, bemused – congregated at its usual location to do what it usually does, unsure if it would still be like it usually is.
It was, and it wasn’t.
Were it not for the news that rocked their world on Monday, when the first reports emerged of the night of debauchery that took place at the Pullman in East Melbourne, this all would have been so straightforward.
On Wednesday, five players – Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon – were suspended for the rest of the season for “breaching club standards”. A separate police investigation continues into an alleged sexual assault. This was not only the first match since, but the Swans’ first ever AFLW-AFL(M) double-header at home.
It was both an unremarkably normal and singularly bizarre experience.
Once the footy began, it felt like practically any other afternoon in the before times. The sights, sounds and smells were all familiar – except for the traditional quarter-time rendition of Sweet Caroline, a beloved Swans ritual that was dropped without explanation.
Oh! And there was a gigantic elephant in the room, too.
In the morning, scores of hopeful media roved around Driver Avenue anticipating a frenzy. Fans who came for the 12.30pm start of the AFLW’s round two fixture between the Swans and Essendon were greeted by reporters asking them to explain their decision to turn up, and if they intended to stick around for the men’s game later in the day.
This was sporting attendance (and departure) as political statement. Not everyone who arrived early or left between games was making one – but many seized their opportunity to do exactly that, holding aloft cardboard signs bearing messages they would then happily unpack in front of a camera and microphone.
“Come down here for some wholesome footy,” a Sydney Roosters fan was heard quipping to them, as he made his way to the NRL double-header next door at Allianz Stadium. It’s amazing how quickly the world changes.
The official crowd for Sydney’s 24-point AFLW win was 16,672 – more than double their previous record, and a clear show of support by the public for a team that was among the week’s indirect victims. Chloe Molloy celebrated a goal by making a “W” with her hands. One supporter had a banner confiscated, but only because it was hung over the sponsor boards. It read: “No more dickheads, please.”
Thus began the healing process.
“The best way to go about today was to win, really,” said captain Lucy McEvoy. “The girls knew that. To give our members and fans a little bit of joy … we felt obliged to do that for them and be that beacon for us as a football club.”
What followed in the interval was not a mass walkout, as had been feared. Dozens upon dozens of people did exit – and women were, to be sure, overrepresented in that category – leaving behind rows of empty seats in the usually jam-packed members’ stand. But dozens more filed through the turnstiles in the other direction, eager to support another group of players who have also been let down.
For them, a crowd of 30,058 was on hand. It was far below the Swans’ usual turnout, but also roughly the same as what they got when the same opponents, North Melbourne, visited last year.
It was a dead rubber, yet the performance and result – a comprehensive 53-point victory for Sydney – were a reminder that there is more talent on their list beyond the five who won’t play again this season.
We still don’t know exactly what they did in that hotel room, but we do know it has impacted many people – including the teammates who were sleeping at the time, and who now have to try and somehow win a flag without them.
They won’t give up meekly. Despite the week they’ve endured, they played with spirit and vigour on Sunday, and the supporters who stuck around responded in kind.
In the final minutes, a chant rang through the air: “Syyyyyyd-ney! Syyyyyyd-ney!”
In the final seconds, a rare standing ovation, and at the siren, an almighty roar, with tears.
“Our fans stood by us and that’s something we’re extremely grateful for,” said Swans captain Callum Mills.
“Everyone in our group was super nervous, because we wanted to go out and compete and do our best, and I’m just really proud of what we put out there and what we walked off with. We’ll wake up tomorrow and worry about tomorrow.”
Coach Dean Cox was asked what he would say to those Swans supporters who decided to go home after the AFLW game, instead of staying to watch his team. He had nothing critical.
“Like I said at the start of the week to our players and to the media, everyone’s emotions are different,” Cox said. “The way they want to support and show up … we understood that. I’m sorry for putting everyone through this. We’ll do everything we can to get their trust back.”
At a function earlier in the day, Swans president Andrew Pridham offered another public apology for the “exceedingly poor decisions by a few [which] have impacted so many”, and said the club would investigate how its proud culture failed to prevent those decisions being made.
Pridham also acknowledged that “just words”, lovely and well-chosen as they were, won’t cut it. “It is our future actions that will define us,” he said.
On that, we’ll just have to wait. But the Swans will be back at the SCG in a fortnight’s time for a qualifying final. Whatever everyone’s feeling by then, at least they’ll know where to bring it.
