In a major twist to the Sydney Swans' Pullman Hotel scandal, the AFL have warned clubs against the risks of acquiring any of the five banned Sydney players, given their availability will not be known until after the upcoming trade period has been completed.
Riley Bice, James Jordon, Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, and perhaps most pertinently, given recent rumblings of a move to Victoria, Nick Blakey, are all under club-imposed suspensions for the rest of the season, with AFL and police investigations into the alleged incidents of August 17th, still ongoing.
Per SEN, the fate of the quintet will not be known until after the conclusion of the upcoming trade period, meaning interested clubs may trade for players who may not be available come Round 1 next year, or beyond.
AFL clubs exploring trades for any of the suspended Sydney players say they’ve been told by the league that their fate won’t be known before the end of the trade period. They say the message from the AFL is clear - buyer beware. @1116sen
— Sam Edmund (@Sammy__Edmund) September 11, 2026
It is major blow for clubs looking to, rightly or wrongly, acquire any of the talented Swans, and for the career prospects of the men who allegedly, behaved so egregiously.
Nick Blakey has been linked with a move to Victoria, with his father's club, North Melbourne, believed to be in the running for the dashing half-back flanker's services, while hybrid midfielder-forward Chad Warner has long been linked with a move back to his native Western Australia.
The quintet's current club are preparing for a home preliminary final next week, after stunning the reigning, defending, back-to-back premiers in a qualifying final last week.
The club's off-field unity and on-field results have defied conventional wisdom since the incident that rocked the AFL landscape, and the greater Australian public.
