An absent Isaac Heeney has been crowned Sydney's best and fairest as the spectre of sexual assault allegations continues to loom over the AFL club.
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Swans captain Callum Mills accepted the Bob Skilton medal on behalf of Heeney, who requested to skip the club's Thursday awards night at Sydney Town Hall.
But Heeney did appear via a two-minute pre-recorded video and said hearing news of his third club champion award was "the first time I've smiled and felt positive about the future for a long time".
The 30-year-old received ample applause and a partial standing ovation from the room of nearly 500 people.
Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were also absent after serving a club-imposed suspension with Heeney throughout the finals.
Despite missing round 24 and two finals - which also counted for award calculations - Heeney polled 431 votes to comfortably claim the club's highest individual annual honour ahead of ruck Brodie Grundy (400) and key forward Charlie Curnow (398).
Four of the suspended Swans finished in the top 10 of the count, with Warner placing fourth ahead of Blakey (seventh) and Jordon (10th).
The club had opted against changing eligibility and voting criteria for the Bob Skilton medal, following suit after the AFL did the same with the Brownlow Medal.
The league did not invite Heeney or Warner to last week's Brownlow ceremony.
In his awards ceremony speech, Swans chairman Andrew Pridham said the reasoning behind the club's eligibility criteria was two-fold - protecting the integrity of votes, and ensuring off-field matters were separate from on-field performance.
"We do not believe it would have been appropriate to retrospectively remove votes that have already been cast owing to the subsequent incident," Pridham said.
"The medals awarded tonight acknowledge on-field performance across the season.
"Erasing a season of football after the fact would, in our opinion, be inappropriate and in excess of a sanction.
"I can assure you that we did not make any decisions we have made in recent times like that.
"I respect that some people in this room and beyond may not agree with where we have landed tonight.
"It has been very, very difficult, but let me be equally clear that these decisions to allow the players to remain eligible does not diminish our concern and respect for everyone involved in this."
Independent of the AFL-endorsed club bans for what the Swans termed a "serious breach of expected club behaviour and standards", a police investigation into an alleged sexual assault at the Pullman Hotel is ongoing.
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. AAP is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of the suspended players.
The five banned players have since returned to Swans headquarters after serving their suspension and individually offered apologies to colleagues and teammates following their team's preliminary final loss to Fremantle.
Heeney was the only player after the club meeting to address media and did so with a brief statement.
"It was really nice to address the whole club," the 30-year-old said on September 23.
"Extremely thankful they could give us their time and understanding, so yeah, it was really good."
Victoria Police's eight-week timeline prediction - which was first flagged on September 2 - on their investigation into the Pullman Hotel incident takes in the free agency and trade period (October 2-14).
All five players are contracted for next year, with Blakey signed to the club until 2031.
Warner and Jordon come off contract at the end of 2027, while Heeney and Bice are signed until the end of 2028.
Multiple reports have suggested Blakey is seeking a trade to a Victorian club, but Sydney football boss Leon Cameron dismissed those rumblings as "speculation" in September.
BOB SKILTON MEDAL VOTES
1. *Isaac Heeney (431)
2. Brodie Grundy (400)
3. Charlie Curnow (398)
4. *Chad Warner (397)
5. Jai Serong (352)
6. Callum Mills (342)
7. *Nick Blakey (339)
8. Tom McCartin (338)
9. Tom Papley (304)
10. *James Jordon (301)
* Suspended from round 24 until the end of season.