Sidebottom met face-to-face with his teammates on Monday for the first time since his breach in which he had drinks at teammate Jeremy Howe's house, shared an Uber with another teammate Lynden Dunn and was found intoxicated by police in Williamstown while half naked.
Having been suspended for the Magpies’ most recent two matches, he has been in Perth beginning life in the AFL's Western Australian hub, where he was recently joined by the rest of his club.
“(On Monday) I obviously had my first opportunity to speak to the playing group and the coaching staff,” Sidebottom said in a video on Collingwood's website.
“I obviously take full responsibility for my actions and deeply apologise for those things that occurred.
“I guess for me over the next few weeks I won't be able to have an impact on-field, but I'll be doing everything I can to help my teammates out to prepare for the games coming up, whatever I can do in meetings, on the training track, whatever it is I'll be there to help out.”
The Tallygaroopna icon and Magpie vice-captain has copped his four-week penalty on the chin and said earning back the respect of those he had let down was his major focus along with helping his teammates.
“My actions two weeks ago, I know that I've affected everyone at the footy club and everyone that supports the footy club,” he said.
“My role going forward now is just to make amends for that and try and work to get back the trust from not only my teammates and everyone at the footy club, but also all the supporters out there.
“I really appreciate all the support that I've had over the last few weeks and I guess for me now I'm looking to put it behind me and get on with 2020.”
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