00:02There's quite a lot that's going on and there's quite a lot that is still unknown and I think
00:07we really need to stress that right at the top. But what we do know now is obviously the
00:10Swans played Essendon on Sunday night. They had a function afterwards at a hotel in Richmond
00:15or a bar in Richmond nearby, the MCG. Some of the players, the players that you mentioned
00:21that are linked to this investigation by the police, went back to their hotel, the Pullman
00:25Hotel in Melbourne. Now, we know something happened in the very early hours of Monday
00:30morning. A witness has described to the ABC seeing a woman very distressed on Monday morning
00:36at around 8.30, another woman talking to police, a lot of Swans players and officials and that
00:42person described a chaotic scene. We know that the Victorian police are investigating an alleged
00:47sexual assault. So they put out a statement yesterday and put out another one today.
00:51Detectives from the sexual crime squad are investigating a report of a sexual assault
00:56in East Melbourne. The exact circumstances are yet to be established and the investigation
01:01into the incident remains ongoing. Now, no formal charges have been laid. Police have said that
01:07they haven't even made any formal interviews at this time. We know now that the players that you
01:15have mentioned that are linked to this investigation didn't fly back to Sydney. In fact, they were driven
01:21in several cars by Swans staff members. So that's about a 10-hour drive from Melbourne back to Sydney.
01:27They didn't turn up to the club today. So the Swans coach, Dean Cox, addressed the playing group. It
01:32didn't include those players linked to the investigation. They were spoken to separately this
01:38afternoon by various Swans officials as they try to establish exactly what's happened in this
01:45incident. So that is the situation as it stands. The next steps will be to decide, well, first of all,
01:50there's a police investigation ongoing and we don't know how long that will take place. And then
01:55there are potential steps that the Swans and indeed the AFL could take. The captain of the Swans,
02:01Callum Mills, he spoke to reporters as he arrived at the club headquarters at Moorpark today.
02:07I can't really comment, mate. It's an investigation ongoing and we don't have facts yet. So I can't
02:12really comment. What's the feeling like just among the playing group at the moment though?
02:15Oh, I'm not going to comment. Once everything's sort of sorted and facts are being understood,
02:22then we can comment. But till now we can't make any comments.
02:24You're still kind of disappointed that something of this could potentially happen?
02:27Oh, I can't comment on it. We don't know the facts. It's as simple as that. Sorry,
02:31guys. Thank you very much.
02:32Have you spoken to any of the boys as well?
02:33I can't comment. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it.
02:36So, Joe, that's Sydney Swans men's captain, Callum Mills. He was one of a number of players
02:41that were doorstopped today and that was the common refrain, we can't comment. One of the
02:45Sydney Swans women's AFLW players, Chloe Malloy, was also doorstopped and she also said the same
02:50thing. The Swans coach, Dean Cox, did speak to reporters today. Here's a little bit of what
02:55he had to say.
02:57We're working our way through everything with the AFL and the relevant parties and, yeah,
03:02we'll update when we get more information.
03:05Have you spoken to the players at all yet about it?
03:08We'll speak as the day unfolds.
03:11And so, Dave, what happens now?
03:13Well, as I said before, there is a police investigation that has to play out and at this stage no
03:18formal
03:18interviews have taken place. So we don't know how long that's going to take. Obviously,
03:23the AFL and the Swans are also investigating. The AFL's integrity unit normally sort of falls
03:29in behind the police investigation. So they would let the police complete their investigation
03:35before they move in. So there's been a lot of speculation about whether players would
03:40be stood down and so on. But I think at this stage, it's actually really too early to say
03:44what could potentially happen because we just don't know what's going to come out of that
03:48police investigation. There's still a chance that formal charges could be laid. But what we
03:52do know is obviously this is a huge scandal for the Sydney Swans. The club was due to host
03:58a doubleheader with the AFLW team this weekend and obviously was going to make a big issue
04:03about that. The Swans are known for a club that has always been very inclusive. It's had
04:09a pride round every year. It really puts a lot of emphasis on that and an emphasis on
04:14its relationship with its women's team. So obviously, this is going to really seriously
04:18jeopardise that. And it potentially, you know, it's a big scandal that has a long time to
04:23play out.
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