Sydney Swans: Captain Callum Mills ‘extremely disappointed’ in players as he stands behind sanctions

Sydney captain Callum Mills says the five players stood down for the rest of the season for breaching behavioural standards have “let the club down” and that he fully supports the sanctions handed down by the Swans.

Mills said he had spoken to the players involved and that those conversations were “extremely hard”.

The Swans captain and senior coach Dean Cox fronted the media on Friday in their first official press conference since the AFL was rocked by reports of a sexual assault incident at the team’s Melbourne hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.

Independent of the ongoing police investigation into those allegations, vice-captain Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were suspended for the remainder of the season.

This masthead is not suggesting the players are guilty of any wrongdoing, just that they are assisting police with inquiries.

Mills said he was extremely disappointed in the actions of the five players, who he referenced as “a few”.

“We believe that the five players have let us down and we believe we’ll be doing everything we possibly can to regain the trust of the community,” he said.

“I fully support the sanctions handed down. This has caused us to put the mirror up to all men in society and inside the football club.

“This isn’t about football. My position is that I fully support the sanctions handed down by the club.”