THERE is no plan for the five Sydney players suspended for breaching club standards to attend Saturday's qualifying final between the Swans and Brisbane, with coach Dean Cox adding there has not been in-depth discussions with the remaining playing group about when the five will return to the club.
Last month, the Swans suspended five players - Isaac Heeney, Nick Blakey, Chad Warner, Riley Bice and James Jordon - for the rest of the season for breaching club standards following an alleged incident at a Melbourne hotel that sparked an ongoing police investigation.
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On Thursday, when asked whether the sidelined group would be at the SCG on Saturday to support the team, coach Dean Cox said simply: "I haven't spoken to them about that".
With the Victoria Police investigation ongoing and no clear timeline for its conclusion, there is lingering uncertainty surrounding the future of the five players, both for the rest of this season and beyond.
When asked about what the duration of the police investigation would mean, Cox said: "Well, that's part of the investigation and the way they do it. So, I just focus on what we can control and what I can control".
With the upcoming trade period just weeks away, Cox did not divulge details of any discussions about whether any of the five players would move to other clubs next month.
"There are so many things that we need to talk about, but not for today," he said.
Addressing statements issued by Victoria Police and the club on Wednesday, Cox noted the situation "changes daily" and that the club is "unsure about what the nature of it looks like".
He said internal discussions are ongoing to find "the best balance between what the footy club needs and also the support of those players".
When pressed on what conditions must be met for players to return to the club, or if the playing group wants them back, Cox said the squad has not been involved in those discussions.
"We haven't spoken about that decision. They've just been focused on the footy and the job ahead," he said.
Victoria Police confirmed on Wednesday that detectives had travelled to Sydney to interview four men, adding they "also spoke to or will speak to three men believed to be in the hotel room at the time of the incident, who are being treated solely as witnesses at this time".
Police are not looking to speak with anyone else in relation to the ongoing investigation, and AFL.com.au is not suggesting any wrongdoing.
The club suspensions were handed down for internal code of conduct breaches, including staying out late, drinking alcohol and bringing non-club personnel back to the team hotel.
Cox again emphasised these sanctions are independent of the police investigation.
"All five of them remain stood down," he said.
"That's one thing that we spoke about at the start; the police investigation and then the behavioural nature of it are going to be separated, and that will still remain. So that doesn't change."