Isaac Heeney finishes outside top five in Brownlow Medal count as Sydney Swans suspended players miss awards

The AFL has avoided the unwanted scenario of one of Sydney's suspended players winning the Brownlow Medal, with Isaac Heeney finishing outside the count's top five.

The league had a contingency plan in place if Heeney had won the game's highest individual honour.

But Nick Daicos's record-breaking number of votes, and prolific polling from Bailey Smith and Marcus Bontempelli, meant the plan never needed to come into play.

Heeney, and Swans teammates Chad Warner and Nick Blakey were among the notable absences from Monday night's awards ceremony.

Along with Riley Bice and James Jordon, they have been absent from Sydney's headquarters since being suspended by the club in August.

The five were stood down for breaching club standards following a post-match incident 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 is not expected until late October.

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

The five players were ruled ineligible for All-Australian honours and were not invited to the Brownlow Medal function in Melbourne.

But they remained eligible for the award.

Brodie Grundy, Charlie Curnow, Dane Rampe, Logan McDonald and Tom McCartin were among those on hand for the Swans.

Once the count started, Heeney was the only player considered a genuine contender.

Heeney did not 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 claimed three votes in round six.

Heeney claimed three consecutive three-vote performances to rise into the top four of the count at one point.

But his best performances were not enough to come close to Daicos's record-setting mark of 47 votes.

Heeney finished equal-eighth on 26 votes, ahead of teammate Errol Gulden (17), who ended the season with five consecutive best-afield performances.