Dillon confirms Swans five will not attend Brownlow Medal ceremony

AFL boss Andrew Dillon says the banned Sydney players won’t be welcome at this year’s Brownlow medal.

In his first public comments since the Swans scandal hit a week ago, Dillon said the players were eligible to win the award, but would not be attending.

They have already been ruled ineligible for All-Australian selection tomorrow night.

Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon have been suspended for the rest of the season for a “serious breach of expected club behaviour and standards” at a team hotel last Monday morning.

“The invitations to the Brownlow will be going out this week. Those players won’t be invited,” Dillon said.

“They’re still eligible for the Brownlow but they’re under a club suspension which goes until the end of the season.”

Speaking at the league’s AFL finals launch in Melbourne, Dillon would not rule out further sanctions for the Sydney players.

The AFL’s integrity unit is almost certain to get involved once the police investigation concludes.

“Once the police investigation is complete, we will conduct our own enquiries, but the AFL won’t get involved while there’s a police investigation underway,” Dillon said.

“The Swans have made enquiries, but the police investigation, we don’t know where that will go and at that stage when that’s completed we’ll make our enquiries.

“What’s clear is the Swans have taken action with the support of the AFL with the information that’s at hand now.”

Asked if the league will demand hair testing of the players, Dillon repeated the AFL would not take carriage of the case until the police have finished.

But the AFL boss denied the game had an illicit drugs and/or culture problem.

“The actions of a few don’t take away from the thousands of people involved in footy at all different levels who do great things all the time,” Dillon said.

“But what we do know is we can do things better and we’ll continue to learn and be better.”

Separately, Dillon said he expected to this week receive a report from James Peters, the KC engaged by the AFL to investigate the Geelong concussion case.

Cats president Grant McCabe said at the weekend “nothing was done in secret” as the club continues to defend its actions.

And Dillon hit back at Western Bulldogs star Ed Richards, who said he didn’t view this weekend’s wildcard game as a final.

“I personally think that we haven’t (made finals). I would like to win this one and then really have that cemented finals spot in an elimination (final) so I’m just treating this as another week, Round 25 if you would,” Richards said.

“But it should be fun. Packed house and very exciting for footy fans all around the country. I’m just excited at the prospect of winning and being able to cement a spot in finals the following week.”

Dillon said in response: “I haven’t heard those comments, but I’m not sure the Bulldogs have played many home games in front of 90,000- plus, so he might have a different feeling at the end of the game.”