The potential elephant in the room at the Brownlow Medal wasn't at Crown Palladium at all.
The AFL had a contingency plan for if banned Swan Isaac Heeney won the game's greatest individual honour, as they do for any contender who isn't in the room.
But thanks to a record-breaking show from winner Nick Daicos, and prolific polling from Bailey Smith and Marcus Bontempelli, that never needed to come into play.
Sydney stars Heeney, Chad Warner and Nick Blakey were among the notable absences from Monday night's awards ceremony.
Heeney, Warner, Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon have been absent from Sydney's headquarters since being suspended by the AFL club in August.
The five were stood down for breaching club standards following a post-match party at the Pullman Hotel in East Melbourne.
Those suspensions are separate to a police investigation into sexual assault allegations, with Victoria Police flagging an update not expected until late October.
No charges have been laid, and AAP is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of the five suspended players.
The five players were ruled ineligible for All-Australian honours and weren't invited to the Brownlow function at Crown Palladium - but remained eligible for the award.
Brodie Grundy, Charlie Curnow, Dane Rampe, Logan McDonald and Tom McCartin were among those on hand for the Swans.
Notably Errol Gulden was the star Swan referenced in introductions alongside other potential contenders, instead of Heeney or Warner, despite missing a large chunk of the season through injury.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon also didn't mention any of the banned Swans in his opening remarks.
Once the count started, Heeney was the only man considered a genuine contender.
Heeney didn't poll until round four, when he landed two votes, and claimed three votes against Gold Coast in Gather Round.
Warner polled for the first time in round four while Blakey polled three votes in round six.
Heeney exploded midway through the season, nailing three consecutive three-vote performances to rise into the top four of the count at one point.
But the star Swan's best performances weren't enough to come close to Daicos's record-setting mark of 47 votes.
Heeney finished equal-eighth on 26 votes, ahead of Gulden (17), who ended the season with five consecutive best-afield performances, Grundy (14), Warner (12), Curnow (10) and Blakey (five).
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
