The Swans Lost Five Stars and Called It a Reset

Sydney finished the 2026 AFL season second on the ladder with 18 wins from 23, a percentage of 136.1, and the best metropolitan viewership growth in the competition. They also finished it having stood down five of their best players for the rest of the year and finals. Greater Western Sydney finished lower, having lost a captain, a Coleman medalist, a leading goalkicker and a starting ruckman, plus four of their coaching staff.

Both clubs head into 2027 from a weaker position than the numbers suggest.

What happened to the Swans

On 19 August 2026 the club suspended Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice for the remainder of the season including finals, on the stated basis of breaching club standards. Victoria Police opened an investigation into an alleged sexual assault. No charges had been laid as of 5 October, with a brief of evidence expected by the end of the month.

AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon banned all five from the Brownlow Medal count and from the 2026 All-Australian squad, the latter a distinct sanction, and confirmed the league would run its own inquiry after any police investigation concludes rather than in parallel.

Chairman Andrew Pridham said at the 1 October best-and-fairest function that the players "strenuously deny the allegations" and should receive the presumption of innocence, while conceding the sanction reflected on their breach of club standards. The club has publicly disputed parts of the reporting and says it is considering its legal position.

The on-field consequence was severe. Rowbottom, Cunningham, Sheldrick, Cleary and Hanily filled the gap, and the Swans were eliminated in the finals.

Two details frame what did not happen. AFLW drew a record 16,672 to the SCG on 23 August for Sydney's win over Essendon, the club's first win at the ground, after commentators and rival players rallied support. And Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir publicly credited Dean Cox with the way the club handled it.

Where the Swans list actually stands

The 2026 turnover included delistings for Robbie Fox, Aaron Francis, Indhi Kirk, Blake Leidler, Caleb Mitchell and Ben Paton, trades out of Will Hayward and Ollie Florent, and trades in for Charlie Curnow, Malcolm Rosas jnr and Jai Serong. Taylor Adams retired.

Two delisted players were immediately re-signed through the rookie-draft list mechanism: Dane Rampe, into a 14th season, and Jake Lloyd.

Dean Cox remains head coach, with Leon Cameron as football boss, Matthew Pavlich as chief executive and Brett Kirk heading player wellbeing and development.

GWS is the genuine crisis

The Giants did not make finals for the first time in Adam Kingsley's four-year reign, and the off-season removed most of the leadership structure at once. Captain Toby Greene, 2024 Coleman medallist Jesse Hogan, leading goalkicker Jake Stringer and starting ruckman Kieren Briggs all left. Greene and Briggs as unrestricted free agents, Hogan and Stringer delisted.

Only Stephen Coniglio survives from the club's 2009 inaugural side, now in his 16th season. The club moved from the fifth-most experienced list in the competition to the tenth, and from the ninth-oldest to the fifteenth.

Four coaching staff depart alongside: assistants Brett Montgomery, Craig Jennings and Ben Hart are leaving or likely to leave, with VFL coach Robbie Chancellor a strong candidate for an assistant role less than a year after returning. Incoming players included Clayton Oliver and Jayden Laverde, both signed into an injury crisis.

Outgoing chief executive Dave Matthews rejected the rebuild framing: "It's not unusual for us to have some changes on the annual basis to the list… There's a bit of a reset, but it's not like it's a rebuild or there's any sort of major issue from my point of view. The club's in a more stable position than what sometimes gets presented."

The derby numbers are the other story

The 2026 Sydney Derby drew 43,986 to the SCG, the highest-attended Swans against Giants fixture ever and sixth-highest Swans home-and-away crowd at the ground. Total season attendance reached a record 8,528,279 including finals, with home-and-away crowds of 7,772,015 the highest in VFL/AFL history. AFL viewership passed 370 million for a sixth consecutive year of growth, and Sydney metro audiences grew more than 10 per cent.

Both clubs are rebuilding on-field while the market around them grows. Team and player news sits with AFL.com.au and Play AFL NSW/ACT. Our sports desk covers the season ahead.