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. Heeney was not at Sydney Town Hall to accept his third consecutive Bob Skilton medal, having requested to skip the club’s Thursday awards night.Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice were also no-shows after the five served a club suspension throughout the finals, imposed after a night of partying with strippers at the Pullman East hotel in Melbourne on August 17.Despite missing round 24 and two finals, Heeney polled 431 votes to comfortably claim the club’s highest individual annual honour ahead of ruck Brodie Grundy on 400 and key forward Charlie Curnow on 398.The awards night got underway with a package of on-field highlights from the year played on a big screen, which conspicuously didn’t feature any of the Pullman Five. Swans chairman Andrew Pridham then gave a 16-minute speech in which he early on addressed the playing ban and confirmed all the players have strongly denied the allegations. ‘This decision reflected only on their breach of club standards and behaviour,’ Pridham said.’At no time have we made any judgment on the allegations currently before police, as this is a separate matter. And as we know, the players strenuously deny the allegations.’ The Sydney Swans best and fairest awards was held on Thursday night at Town Hall (pictured is Corey Warner, the younger brother of Chad Warner) Isaac Heeney won the Bob Skilton Medal but did not attend (he is pictured at his club exit meeting a week ago) Club chairman Andrew Pridham gave a speech in which he said the Pullman players denied the allegations( pictured is Jake Lloyd on left and James Rowbottom on right)Four of the suspended Swans finished in the top ten of the count, with Warner placing 4th ahead of Blakey in 7th and Jordon in 10th.The club had opted against changing eligibility and voting criteria for the 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.Captain Callum Mills accepted the award for Heeney, who was beamed into the room on a large TV screen and apologised to the club before saying he was looking forward to rejoining the team in 2027.’When I was told about this honour, it was the first time I’ve smiled and felt positive about the future for a long time,’ Heeney said.’My whole life has centred around my two families. My family in Newcastle where Mum, Dad, brother, and Steph, have always been an incredible support, particularly recently. I love you, and thank you.’And my other family, which I’ve been a part of since I was 12 years old, the Sydney Swans. A family I also love and cherish being a part of.’I want to say to everyone, in particular my teammates, the Swans players, AFLW, and the staff, from the depths of my heart, I’m truly sorry for putting you through the extreme difficulty you’ve had to endure, as it had a huge impact on our club.’ Forward Malcolm Rosas and girlfriend Amelia Khoo, a lawyer who does work for the Swans Swans captain Callum Mills appeared relaxed at the event considering his team’s season Swans coach Dean Cox (left) and assistant Leon Cameron arrived early and appeared tensePridham said the reasoning behind the club’s eligibility criteria was to protect the integrity of votes.It was also to ensure 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.’ Joel Hamling and wife Lilly Pittard outside Town Hall on Thursday for the function Riley Bice (left) and Chad Warner (right) were notable no-shows to the awards James Jordan also did not appear (pictured at his Swans HQ exit interview last week) Tom McCartin and his model partner Sophie Walker at the awards night Former Scots College student Harry Kyle (left) and key forward Joel Amartey, who is set to leave the club and take up a contract with Carlton.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. Daily Mail does not suggest 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. Charlie Curnow brought along his partner, fashion stylist Tiana Simic James Rowbottom, Tom Papley and Dane Rampe take a selfie Nick Blakey was absent from the night (pictured at Swans headquarters last week) Former Swans great Barry Hall (right) was all smiles at the event Brodie Grundy with partner, physiotherapist Rachael Wertheim’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.