Sydney chief executive Matthew Pavlich has confirmed the embattled club has started a thorough investigation into its culture following another serious off-field scandal this week.
Pavlich said he is “bitterly disappointed” after star forward Tom Papley failed a roadside drug test on Monday. The high-profile forward, who is one of the team’s most experienced players, will front court later this month.
“We’re bitterly disappointed that we’re here talking about this today,” Pavlich told reporters in Sydney.
“We’re really disappointed in Tom himself. We voiced that pretty directly to him yesterday.
“We apologise unreservedly to our members, fans and corporate partners.
“We’ve let them down again. We must be better.
“It’s a really disappointing time for the footy club, but given this is a police matter, we cannot make any further comment.”
Papley was been pulled over in New South Wales on November 2 for driving with a suspended licence due to an outstanding parking fine.
During the stop, a random drug test returned a positive finding for methylamphetamine, with a second sample taken away for analysis, with the results still outstanding.
Papley was issued a 24-hour driving prohibition and will appear before Waverly Local Court on November 26.
Papley informed the club himself of the incident, but in the wake of the ‘Pullman Five’ scandal that rocked the AFL, Pavlich admitted it was disappointing to once again be fronting the media for an off-field incident involving a Swans player.
Pavlich confirmed Sydney would wait for a second sample to come through before making a decision on Papley.
“Given this is a police matter, we cannot make any further comment until such time as the secondary sample comes through and that test is solidified,” he said.
“We’ll work through that process over the next period, and we’ll update everyone after that.”
Papley’s looming court appearance comes after the Swans suspended five players for breaching club behavioural standards last August.
Vice-captain Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were stood down for the remainder of the AFL season and missed the finals.
“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 “we 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.”
Victoria Police are yet to provide an update on the investigation into sexual assault allegations at East Melbourne’s Pullman Hotel following a round 23 AFL game.
Detectives in early September travelled to NSW to interview a 30-year-old Maroubra man, a 25-year-old Paddington man and two Randwick men aged 25 and 26.
It is understood the men interviewed were Heeney, Warner, Jordon and Blakey.
No charges have been laid. The West Australian is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of the suspended players.
Bice is no longer a person of interest for police, while Blakey departed the Swans during last month’s trade period to join North Melbourne.
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