🚨 SYDNEY SWANS PLAYERS BREAK DOWN IN TEARS AFTER A WEEK OF TURMOIL… AND THEIR EMOTIONAL RESPONSE ON THE FIELD IS LEAVING FANS STUNNED
Embattled and understrength Sydney have beaten North Melbourne by 53 points in the Swans’ first game since the sexual assault allegations that have rocked the AFL club.
Five players – Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon – were on Wednesday suspended for the rest of the season for ‘breaching club standards’.
The sanctions are separate to the police investigation into sexual assault allegations and the events at East Melbourne’s Pullman Hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.
Those events completely overshadowed a maiden AFLW-AFL double header at the SCG – where after Sydney’s women’s team beat Essendon by 24 points, the men won their game 17.21 (123) to 10.10 (70).
Skipper Callum Mills and star midfielder Errol Gulden were in tears on the final siren, the emotions of the week spilling over as the crowd showed its vocal support for the club.
‘Just overwhelming support is probably what got me,’ Mills said of his tears.
‘Our fans stood by us and that’s something we’re extremely grateful for.
‘I’m so grateful for our fans to stick with us.’
+8
View galleryTom Papley (left) and Callum Mills (right) of the Swans embrace after the round 24 AFL match between the Sydney Swans and North Melbourne
+8
View gallerySam Wicks of the Swans and teammates thank diehard fans after winning
+8
View galleryCallum Mills embraces Swans head coach Dean Cox following a rough few days
The AFLW team won in front of a record crowd of 16,672, with some fans walking out after the women’s game – which had been forecast by some as a reaction to the Pullman Hotel storm.
Sydney’s men won an effective dead rubber in front of 30,058 fans – the club’s lowest AFL home crowd of the season, though it wasn’t as low as some might have expected.
The Swans’ previous low mark this year was 33,413, with every other home crowd breaching 35,000, and with six attendances of 40,000 or more.
‘The girls have been unbelievable,’ Mills said of Sydney’s AFLW side.
‘It’s been a hard week for the girls – and the boys and the whole club.
‘And the way we stuck together, the way that our fans showed up with the double header, our girls set the tone with the way they played, and we just had to back it up, and yeah, we did.’
Sydney were already locked into second place on the ladder and will face either Brisbane or Hawthorn in a home qualifying final.
While the Swans will have next weekend off during the AFL wildcard round, they will in reality face two more weeks in the spotlight before the finals.
+8
View gallery
Dane Rampe of the Swans reacts at full time after the team’s win
+8
View gallery
A team huddle after the match, which the Swans did not need to win for the competition, but clearly for their morale
+8
View gallery
Swans fans show their support for their team during the clash
+8
View gallery
Callum Mills embraces Swans Chairman Andrew Pridham who fronted press conferences earlier during the week
No charges have been laid and AAP is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of the five suspended players.
Before the game, coach Dean Cox told Fox Footy he was confident the Swans had still prepared well despite the tough week.
His undermanned side were clearly the better team and kept the Kangaroos at arm’s length.
Gulden (41 disposals) stood tall along with skipper Mills (26 disposals), Brodie Grundy (26 disposals, 27 hitouts), Braeden Campbell (20 disposals and two goals) and Tom Papley.
Boom recruit Charlie Curnow kicked 3.4 to finish his first season in Sydney with 69 goals, winning his third Coleman Medal as the AFL’s leading goalkicker.
Billy Cootee and Logan McDonald also kicked three goals each.
James Rowbottom, Harry Cunningham, Angus Sheldrick, Caiden Cleary and Tom Hanily were the five inclusions.
For North, former Swan Luke Parker (26 disposals) was busy along with Jy Simpkin (26) and Caleb Daniel (26), while Cam Zurhaar kicked two goals.
+8
View gallery
Errol Gulden and Joel Hamling were both emotional after putting in outstanding performances on the field
Sydney took the early ascendancy and shot out to a 39-point lead midway through the second quarter.
The Kangaroos responded late in the second term and in the third to claw the margin back to 21 at the final break.
Cootee kicked a settler at the start of the fourth quarter and from there the Swans cruised.
North (9-14) finish the season in 14th place.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/sport/afl/article-16073561/Sydney-Swans-AFL-Melbourne-hotel-win.html
