Isaac Heeney has thanked his family and friends for their support while a relieved Nick Blakey has vowed to speak soon, after police confirmed no charges would be laid over the Sydney Swans’ alleged Pullman scandal.
The three-month investigation into reports of alleged sexual assault wrapped up this week, with Victoria Police confirming the final decision came down to insufficient evidence.
A civil matter is ongoing, police said.
Heeney, 30, welcomed Victoria Police’s decision not to press charges and said waiting for the investigation to finish had been a difficult experience.
“The past three months have been incredibly difficult for my family, (fiancee) Steffie and those close to me. Watching my family carry the weight of this has been heartbreaking,” he said in a statement.
“To my family and friends, your love and loyalty has meant more than words can do justice.
“To those that have never doubted me and stood by my side in solidarity — thank you. I know it has not been easy in the face of such intense public scrutiny. I will never forget your support.
“To the entire Sydney Swans club — my teammates, coaches, the board, our sponsors, and our loyal members and fans — thank you for keeping faith in me.
“The Swans have given me an opportunity to live out a childhood dream and I am fully focused on repaying that faith by being the best person and player I can be.”
Sydney, Blakey’s new club North Melbourne and the AFL are yet to respond to the Victoria Police decision.
Blakey spent time on the phone at Kangaroos training on Friday morning and received handshakes and hugs from teammates and club staff.
New North coach Jaymie Graham smiled as he wrapped his arms around Blakey.
As Blakey left the track he signed gear for one fan and took a selfie with another who offered a thumbs-up in the photo.
He said the public would hear from him “pretty soon”.
Blakey forced his way out of Sydney in October and secured a trade to his father John’s former club North Melbourne, who said they were “very comfortable” with the trade amid the police investigation.
Asked on Friday if he regretted moving, Blakey said: “Absolutely not, I love it here.”
He confirmed he had already spoken to another player or players involved in the alleged scandal.
Heeney, Blakey, Chad Warner and James Jordon as well as Riley Bice, who was cleared earlier in the investigation, have already served separate AFL-endorsed bans from Sydney’s finals campaign for breaching club standards.
The Swans have already embarked on an external review into the club’s culture, which came under more scrutiny earlier this month when NSW Police alleged Tom Papley was driving under the influence of drugs.
Papley is due to face court in a fortnight.
Chief executive Matthew Pavlich last week admitted the club has “a long way to go” on its culture.
Swans chairman Andrew Pridham then wrote to members to confirm the board had engaged workplace culture company Intersection to “provide advice on the club’s various protocols and programs”.
All AFL players and staff will be interviewed as part of the “comprehensive examination”, which also takes in the club’s annual end-of-season review.
This process is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
“We’re looking at that right now,” Pavlich said, when asked if the Swans had a culture problem.
“We’ve been identifying that over the last eight weeks.
“We’ve started some deep work on that with our AFL men’s department, independent advisers helping us through that.
“These are the questions we are asking ourselves right now and asking our players.”
Pavlich added that the Swans “need to be better”.
“This is not something that anyone is stopping short of, knowing that we’ve got a long way to go,” he said.
“We’ve got some deep work to do to understand how we can get better.”
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
— with AAP
