No charges have been laid and 7NEWS.com.au is not suggesting any wrongdoing, however the allegations are clearly serious.
The known facts are that the players were drinking into the early hours of the morning, and there were exotic dancers in their hotel room.
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One thing is certain, the players fell well short of acceptable behaviour from professional athletes, and AFL expert Kane Cornes says they should be feeling sick.
The Swans players — who were left to represent the club — physically and emotionally gave their all for 11 quarters since that Round 23 game and the alleged scandal that unfolded later that night.
But in the final term of the preliminary final against Fremantle, they just ran out of gas after building a game-high 28-point lead.
“If the (Pullman five) play, they’re probably in the box seat to win a premiership, not only to win (the prelim),” Cornes said.
Sydney was an Isaac Heeney moment away from making a grand final. Credit: Getty
“It was a Heeney moment away. It was a Warner moment away. It was a Blakey run and leadership moment away. It was a Jordon defensive role away, Bice’s ball use across half back.
“So those five will be sitting there and hopefully feeling sick.
“This is hard to win. You need everything going your way. There are one percenters, and when you’re not fully buying into being an AFL professional, that comes back to get you.
“They’ll live with this moment forevermore, and it will be a significant regret for them.
“And if I was their teammate, I’d be furious about what has happened over the last month or so.”
Cornes applauded the players who represented the club in the aftermath of the scandal, and coach Dean Cox.
“The commitment, the discipline, the attitude, the sacrifice physically and from a game plan point of view, the coaching,” Cornes said.
“Like Dean Cox’s level has certainly gone up, and his reputation has increased after this.
“And just the importance of role players … they don’t have to be a star, but give them a task, explain it to them, and make them fully understand what is they are required to do, and you can pull off some amazing things.
“So there should be some teams that missed out on the finals watching what Sydney have done with not a whole lot of talent get to this point where they’re 28 points up with 20 minutes to go of the third quarter of a preliminary final.”
Sydney stalwart Dane Rampe was visibly emotional after the loss and may have played his last game.
Standing in as captain for an injured Callum Mills, Rampe led the team with his trademark bravery.
Dane Rampe was in tears after the final siren. Credit: Seven
A former co-captain, the 36-year-old Rampe was re-drafted as a rookie by the Swans with fellow defender Jake Lloyd at the end of last year.
While Lloyd has signed on for a 15th season, neither Rampe nor the Swans have made a call on whether he will continue next year.
But the door is ajar, with defender Mills facing the possibility of missing the entire 2027 season with an anterior cruciate ligament tear.
“I haven’t spoken to Dane about the possibilities next year,” Cox said.
“What he’s earned, he’s the right to get through this year as much as he possibly can.
“Like every player, we’ll have discussions in the coming weeks about what the future looks like.”
Asked if he would like to see Rampe play on, Cox said: I haven’t really thought about it.
“I think he’s earned the right to say if he wants to play on or if he doesn’t, and then we’ll just have those conversations from there.”
In his 290th AFL game, Rampe finished with 17 disposals and five intercept possessions as he helped keep Fremantle’s star-studded attack at bay early with Lloyd and Tom McCartin.
Despite 31 forward entries to Sydney’s 27 at halftime, Dockers cult hero Patrick Voss didn’t register a single disposal until the end of the second quarter.
Fellow forward stars Josh Treacy and Jye Amiss had a combined seven touches.
It was the second time Rampe had led the Swans through finals after Mills was ruled out of the 2024 decider with a hamstring injury.
Drafted at age 22 in 2013, Rampe has played in four grand-final defeats (2014, 2016, 2022 and 2024).
“I can’t speak highly enough of what Dane has done for our football club ever since he’s been here,” Cox said.
“Just unfortunate we couldn’t get it done for him.”
