New details on Pullman incident emerge as Swans star’s bitter fall-out explained

The bad blood between Nick Blakey and the Sydney Swans has been exposed with a bombshell report revealing new details of the Pullman Hotel incident.

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Blakey was sensationally granted his wish to be traded to North Melbourne this week on an eight-year deal reportedly worth a club record $12 million.

Blakey was stood down by the Swans in August as one of the members of the so-called Pullman Five for breaching the club’s behavioural standards during a night out where they were found to have stayed out late, consumed alcohol and brought women back to the club’s hotel rooms.

Blakey, Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, James Jordon and Riley Bice were suspended for the remainder of the 2026 season.

Four of those players are the subject of an ongoing police investigation, with Bice having been cleared of any criminal wrongdoing.

No one has been charged in relation to the incident.

The Victoria Police sexual crime squad continues to investigate the incident after reports of sexual assault were made by three women who came to the room when reportedly hired as exotic dancers.

CODE Sports has now reported new details about Blakey’s behaviour at the Pullman Hotel on August 17.

It has already been widely reported Blakey and Swans teammates partied hard at Melbourne nightclubs, having been given permission by Swans coach Dean Cox to have a night out after locking up second spot on the ladder.

Among several massive updates, Code Sports journalist Scott Gullan reports:

— Blakey “stumbled across a party” already going on inside a room on Level 8 when he returned to the Pullman Hotel at 3.30am after most of his teammates had already made it back.

— He went inside the room for a while before leaving, reportedly unaware of any incident.

— He was not involved in the hiring of the dancers.

— He was left “shocked” when the Swans announced he and his teammates were exiled for the remainder of the season.

— With inside knowledge of the incident, the AFL did not advise North Melbourne against pursuing Blakey’s signature after league officials were contacted by Kangaroos president Sonja Hood and chief executive Jen Watt.

— Blakey and other members of the Pullman Five were told by the club not to attend the Bob Skilton Medal awards night. The club said in a media release before the event the five players had made the decision by themselves.

The Roos were criticised across the industry on Tuesday after Blakey’s trade was announced with footy commentators pointing out Blakey remains under active investigation.

Unlike ex-teammate Bice, who police have explicitly cleared of any wrongdoing, the police have made no such statement in relation to Blakey, and the other Swans players involved.

According to reports, Watt spoke to the club’s AFLW players on Friday about the club’s pursuit of Blakey’s signature.

According to Code Sports, none of those players expressed anger or reservations serious enough for the club to turn its back on Blakey.

It appears the real anger was between Blakey and Swans officials.

By the time the Bob Skilton medal event was held, Blakey was reportedly already exploring the possibility of walking out on the club, despite having five years remaining on his contract.

It did not go unnoticed that the Swans were far from gracious when announcing Blakey’s exit after 173 games for the club.

Sydney’s acknowledgment of the star’s exit was titled “Swans secure top picks for Nick Blakey”.

It went on to say: “Blakey leaves the Sydney Swans having chalked up 173 games in the red and white since debuting in 2019. A QBE Sydney Swans Academy athlete, Blakey was initially drafted with pick 10 in 2018, after the Swans matched a bid from GWS.”

Head of List Strategy and Player Personnel, Chris Keane, added: “This trade with North has significantly improved our draft hand.

“Having a pick inside the top 10 is extremely valuable and not something we have had for a number of years, so we will get to work on landing the best player available.

“We thank Nick for his contribution to our football club since being drafted in 2018 and he leaves our club as a life member having played over 150 games.

“On behalf of the club I wish Nick all the very best as he continues his career at the Kangaroos.”

— You can read the full details of Blakey’s exit at Code Sports