Sydney coach Paul Roos is expected to sack troubled forward Nick Davis after this season but on Monday Roos strongly defended his player, demanding an apology from Carlton.

Roos said it was "inappropriate" for Carlton chief executive Greg Swann to describe Davis as "not a great bloke".

"I think that is inappropriate for a CEO of another footy club," Roos told reporters at the SCG.

"Maybe if Greg had his time over again I wouldn't have thought he would say something like that because Nick is a really likeable kid.

"He is a good kid who wouldn't harm anyone. I am very disappointed to hear Greg say that.

"I have asked Myles (Swans chief Myles Baron-Hay) to speak to Greg because that is appropriate.

"It is not a big issue for us but I think we need to get that across. I mean, I wouldn't speak about a Carlton player like that."

Asked if the Blues should apologise, Roos added: "I would have thought so. Obviously Greg has dealt with Nick in the past.

"To say that publicly is inappropriate and pretty poor."

Swann was chief executive at Collingwood when Davis made a bitter exit from the Magpies for Sydney in late 2002.

Swann said although the forward's manager Lance Thompson had approached Carlton, he would not be at Princes Park in 2009.

"Not in a million years. No," Swann told Fairfax radio on Sunday.

"I had a bit to do with him in a past life. He's not a great bloke. We don't need him at our club."

Earlier in his press conference, Roos had given a typically laconic response to a query about whether Davis had been seen around the club lately.

A matchwinner in Sydney's semi-final win over Geelong at the SCG in their premiership year of 2005, Davis has found himself in trouble with the Swans playing group at times for failing to uphold team rules.

His discipline has also been questioned.

On Friday, Davis missed a training and rehab session at the club and last week he did media interviews talking about his interest in playing for West Coast next year.

"I haven't seen him. I read another article (on Sunday) which was entertaining," Roos said.

"But I haven't seen him so hopefully he comes back soon."

Davis told Sydney newspaper The Sun-Herald on Sunday his attitude to preparing himself each week for a match had improved over the years.

"The professionalism of AFL has gone to another level and it's about adapting to that," Davis said.

"Maybe I've take a little bit longer to adapt ... than other people.

"To some people it may come across that it doesn't mean a lot to me and I don't care, but it is my life and I do care.

"At the start of the year, I wasn't dropped for my conduct off-field or anything like that ... it was just a confidence thing.

"It was nothing to do with any culture stuff, which is different to previous years."

A veteran of 168 AFL games, Davis compared himself to Australian rugby league Test player Willie Mason as a magnet for headlines.

"We always attract attention, whether we're playing good, bad or indifferent. People seem to like the characters that we are and are genuinely interested in what we do," Davis said.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP