Columnist Peter van Onselen argues that the Sydney Swans hotel room scandal has exposed hypocrisy in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's public criticism of the AFL, after a player allegedly referenced Albanese's own controversial podcast comments during the incident under investigation. Albanese appeared on ABC's 7.30 programme to condemn the AFL's handling of the affair and demand it "do better," despite one of the suspended players allegedly joking that a teammate had "done an Albo" during the alleged lap-dancing session, a direct nod to Albanese's widely criticised "melons" remarks on the Bush Deep podcast.

The article details how the alleged incident took place at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne, with five Swans players, including Nick Blakey and Isaac Heeney, suspended for breaching club standards. Van Onselen also criticises Deputy Prime Minister Tanya Plibersek for condemning institutions that "gloss over" allegations of sexual violence while defending Albanese's own podcast conduct, and notes that Albanese, questioned by host Sarah Ferguson, eventually admitted appearing on the podcast was a mistake but stopped short of directly addressing or apologising for the "melons" comment itself.