'Geoff', not his real name, said up to 20 men, including players and their friends, had gone on the trip, which was not sanctioned by the club. He said the club had been involved in an AFL respect for women course and had "tried our utmost to employ the right policies for these kids". "It is just so devastating to find out that something like this (allegedly) happens on a weekend away that's trying to celebrate the end of the season," he said. "It wasn’t an official function or anything, it just comes as a complete and utter shock to all the families involved of all the boys who were interviewed." Geoff said the club would stand by its charged players, who were "innocent until proven guilty".

"We're not going to abandon our boys, we're going to stick by them and ... make sure that they're looked after and helped out and get the help that they need to get through," he said.

Victorian Premier John Brumby said today he could not comment on the case, but any act of violence against women was completely inexcusable. "Rape is the worst crime there is," he said. "I feel very strongly about these matters, you know, as a parent with two daughters. Getting the message out into the community about the complete unacceptability of any act of violence against women is just such an important thing to do."

Police allege the women were held prisoner and repeatedly raped by the footballers after being lured to a rented house on Phillip Island. One of the women, 18, alleged she was sexually assaulted by as many as eight men. Her friend, also 18 who was allegedly assaulted by up to five men, is not pressing charges, but said she would act as a witness for her friend. Three young men - teammates in Montmorency Football Club's under-19 side - appeared in an out-of-sessions court last night charged with three counts of rape, two of indecent assault and one of unlawful imprisonment on October 10. The charges relate to the same woman.

Trent Cantwell, 18, of Lower Plenty, Ruben James Mineo, 18, of Bundoora, were bailed to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday. Cantwell, a Year 12 student, was to sit a VCE English exam that day. A 17-year-old from Montmorency, who cannot be named, will appear at the Children's Court on November 27. Thirteen others were interviewed by police yesterday, but were released, pending investigation. Victorian sexual crimes squad detectives said they expected to lay further charges. $10,000 damage bill at holiday house The landlord of the Cowes house allegedly trashed by the footballers says he has been left with a damage bill of about $10,000.

The man, who did not want to be identified, said the footballers had already paid $1300 restitution - however, it would cost an additional $8500 to fix up the damage. He said there were holes in some walls. There was damage to furniture, curtains, the washing machine and it took cleaning staff two days to clean things up. The man said the holiday home had been booked online for a group of eight adults and he would never have let it out to 16 youths. AFL boss Andrew Demetriou appealed to anyone present at the alleged assault to tell police everything they know.

Mr Demetriou told Radio 3AW he was "absolutely appalled" and "incredibly outraged" after hearing the allegations. He said the AFL had offered support services to the two women. Police said that some of the young men met the two women at a hotel and invited them to a party at the house in Cowes. The women arrived to discover 30 men there. It was alleged that the women were ushered into separate bedrooms and that wardrobes were pushed across the doors to stop them from escaping, before they were repeatedly assaulted. The women were able to escape the next morning when a brawl broke out among the youths.

Detective Sergeant Jason Walsh, from the sexual crimes squad, told the court that the trip to Phillip Island had been organised by members of Montmorency’s under-19 team. Mr Demetriou told ABC Radio the AFL had outlawed such trips and footballers wanting to celebrate the end of season were now required to travel in smaller groups with "escorts". He said the AFL would continue to drive a cultural shift in the football community which centred on respecting women and responsible drinking. "Throughout the football industry compared to five years ago there has been a significant shift in the attitude towards women ... but we are going to continue to get people who ignore the messages," he told the ABC. "There are people, not just in football clubs, there are men in the community who think it's OK (to force themselves on women)".

Mr Demetriou did not want to comment on the specific case but said in any sexual incident where women were greatly outnumbered by men "the issue of consent becomes very problematic". In a statement posted on the club’s website this morning, president Gary Green said Montmorency condemned any violence towards women and was cooperating with the police investigation. Police said they found a large amount of blood at the scene. They have taken blood, semen and fingerprint samples. Police told the court last night the 17-year-old and Cantwell, who won a Northern Football League best-and-fairest award last year, had described what they believed were consensual acts.

Mineo had told police that he disputed the woman’s statement regarding the question of consent. When asked by bail justice Annette Stockman if he wanted to address the court about bail, Mineo said he could understand if she thought "this kid’s a monster who would do something like that". He then said: "My parents didn’t bring me up to do something like that. I’m ashamed. I want to see my mum." Police had opposed bail on the grounds that the three might contact teammates or other witnesses and interfere with the case. But Ms Stockman granted bail on conditions including that they report to police, surrender or not apply for passports, and do not contact anyone from the Montmorency Football Club or the alleged victims or their families.

Also included in the conditions was a stipulation that they not go to Cowes or Phillip Island, or contact any witnesses. A Montmorency coach yesterday said the trip was not officially connected to the club. "It was not an official trip. The only official football trip involved seniors and reserves players that went to Glenelg," he said. Northern Football League general manager Kevin Crompton said the news was disappointing for the league and the club as Montmorency had embraced a program highlighting that violence against women was unacceptable. Mr Crompton said the club had supported the AFL’s "respect and responsibility policy" that promotes a commitment to address violence against women and to create a safe and supportive environment for women and girls across the football industry.

The AFL, on its website, says the policy is about shifting attitudes - "ensuring that people throughout the Australian football industry are aware, and have structures in place, that recognise that violence against women and behaviour that harms or degrades women, is never acceptable". Mr Crompton said Montmorency had not only backed the program but had also hosted the sessions. "As a club, they were very supportive of the program," he said. AFL Victoria chief executive officer Peter Schwab said he was shocked by the allegations. "It’s an extremely distressing time for the two girls concerned and our thoughts are with them," he said. Detective Inspector Glenn Davies from the sexual crimes squad said violence against women would not be tolerated. Loading

"I encourage all women who are victims of sexual assault to report these offences to police," he said. Detectives have visited nightclubs at Phillip Island and are looking through closed-circuit television tapes from around the time the alleged rapes occurred.