AFL should consider enacting no-fault stand-down policy

August 18, 2026 — 7:45pm

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At this early stage there are some things that are known and much that is not about what happened at the Pullman East Melbourne hotel when the Sydney Swans stayed there this past weekend.

We know that detectives from Victoria’s sexual crimes squad are investigating an alleged incident from the early hours of Monday morning and that five Sydney Swans players are assisting the police with their inquiries into the matter.

Exactly who police are focused on or why we do not know, although The Age has contacted the representatives of Isaac Heeney, Riley Bice, James Jordon, Chad Warner and Nick Blakey, who remained in Melbourne as the team headed back to Sydney after an allegation of sexual assault in the early hours of Monday morning.

We know the players would also face sanctions at a club and AFL level, outside of the police investigation – likely bans of multiple matches.

Several strands arise from the preceding. First, and most........

© The Age