Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd has slammed the five suspended Sydney Swans players Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice for costing their club a spot in the 2026 Grand Final.
Despite putting on a courageous effort to lead by 28 points in the third quarter of the Preliminary Final against Fremantle, the Swans ran out of gas late as the Dockers overran them on their home deck.
Speaking on the 3AW broadcast after the game, Lloyd didn't mince his words when talking about what the Pullman Five had done to the club.
"I just want to commend the Swans, the players that are out there. They could not have given anymore. They would be that proud of the players that are out there now," Lloyd said on the broadcast.
"That's where the fallout is going to be big, where it does turn and say, 'You cost us. We were good enough. We were more than good enough.'
"That's where a lot of people say can they ever play for the Swans again? Because they will never be forgiven. (Premierships) are that hard to win and they were there to be there. They should have been there next week.
"You look at the crowd. Suddenly blame will start for the players that are out there, the staff, you can see they are just distraught."
The five players were suspended after Round 23 for behaving in an unprofessional manner, while four of them (excluding Bice) remain part of an on-going police investigation into an alleged sexual assault.
Code Sports reported on Friday that the Swans were keen to retain all five players on their list - pending the results of the police investigation. Warner is said to have confirmed to the club he wants to stay a Swan in 2027.
However, only time will tell over whether the club and the rest of the squad will want the Pullman Five to return. And whether the suspended five wish to play their football at the club beyond this season after a heartbreaking finish.
