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Anna Harrington and Adrian Warren

Swans prepare for finals as investigation continues

Bonded in adversity, Sydney will prepare for the finals after steeling themselves to beat North. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)

Sydney will prepare for their AFL finals campaign while bracing for more fall-out from the sexual assault allegations that have rocked the club.

The undermanned Swans negotiated an emotion-ridden final home and away match against North Melbourne on Sunday, winning by 53 points after their AFLW team beat Essendon by 24 in the club's first men's and women's double header.

That ended a turbulent week, headlined by last Wednesday's suspension of Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, Riley Bice and James Jordon for the rest of the season for "breaching club standards".

Those sanctions are separate to the police investigation into sexual assault allegations and the events at East Melbourne's Pullman Hotel in the early hours of Monday morning.

No charges have been laid and AAP is not suggesting any wrongdoing on the part of the five suspended players.

Jai Serong and Errol Gulden.
Emotions ran high for the Swans after their dramatic week ended with a win over North Melbourne. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)

With the police investigation continuing in the background, Sydney's other players will recover from the North clash then likely have days off before turning their attention to the finals.

The Swans have next weekend off during AFL wildcard round, but in reality the club faces two more weeks in the spotlight before hosting Brisbane in a home qualifying final.

"We'll have a couple of recovery days in the next two or three days and then get back and train as hard as we possibly can," coach Dean Cox said.

"The great thing is our VFL program is still going. They'll go down and play Port Melbourne next weekend.

"We'll be fully supportive of that and then have a good session over the weekend and attack next week.

"This week has all been about putting one foot in front of another and we've done that as well we possibly can.

"From there it's about now looking at who we do play and then spending a lot of time trying to analyse a very good football team."

Charlie Curnow.
Charlie Curnow has sealed his third Coleman Medal in his first season with the Swans. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)

Chairman Andrew Pridham on Wednesday, when handing down the punishment to the banned players, said the Swans had "torpedoed" their season.

That message seemingly didn't reach the rest of the Swans.

Charlie Curnow - who on Sunday sealed his third Coleman Medal as the season's highest goalscorer in his first year in Sydney - has firm belief in what his new-look team can do.

"We've just got a lot of heart and we just want to put our eyes on that first final," he said.

"It's so special to show up in front of your home crowd and if we play the right way we can do anything."

Cox added: "I don't see this team being in a position where we don't think we can win  our first qualifying final."

Asked whether the Swans could go further than a lot of people think, skipper Callum Mills said: "We'll find out".

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson, a four-time premiership coach at Hawthorn, won't be writing off the Swans without Heeney, Warner and Blakey.

"Anything can happen in finals and if you've got a desire like they demonstrated today, then good luck anyone that takes them lightly," Clarkson said.

"The whole football world has pretty much written them off and that's when the Sydney Swans are at their most dangerous and they showed that today.

"I'd be writing them off at your peril."

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