Isaac Heeney says Sydney has moved away from ‘Swans footy’ but can resurrect its ailing season
Isaac Heeney has conceded Sydney is in a ‘lull’, but one of the AFL’s best young talents has no plans to jump ship as he plots to lead the Swans’ resurrection.
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For Isaac Heeney, it’s the reassuringly familiar in an unfamiliar season for Sydney.
When Sydney’s young star runs out to warm-up for Friday’s crucial clash against Essendon, he will wait for the same sound he’s been hearing since he started playing soccer as a six-year-old.
It’s the piercing whistle of his mum, Rochelle, perfected on the family farm in Stockrington, 25km west of Newcastle, where Heeney and older brother Beau were raised.
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“It’s a little embarrassing because mum and dad sit in the same seat every week and her excuse is that it’s so I know where they’re sitting,” Heeney says.
“I actually think she just wants a little wave and I do cop that from the lads pretty hard.
“She’s got a monster whistle on her.”
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It’s also a monster game if a suddenly vulnerable Sydney are going to salvage anything from this campaign.
For a bloke who arrived at the club as an academy prodigy and played in the 2016 grand final in only his second season, the Swans’ 1-6 start to the season has hit Heeney as hard as anyone.
While coach John Longmire put the Swans’ youth on the agenda over summer and injuries to a swag of veteran players has exposed an inexperienced underbelly, Heeney admitted he’s been shocked by the drop off.
“Yeah I have, definitely, because I thought we’d had a really good pre-season,” Heeney says.
“But then you look at the footage that ‘Horse’ (Longmire) shows from games and it’s not Swans footy. It’s understandable why we’re losing.
“Obviously we need to turn the season around and all the boys are certainly ready to jump on board and get our second win of the season.
“It hasn’t been the greatest of starts, but we feel as though we’ve knuckled down and finding the specific reasons as to why we’ve gone wrong, we’re improving those and we had a good week on the track.”
An ongoing ankle problem that started in the pre-season and a hip injury he copped in Round 4 have somewhat diluted Heeney’s brilliance.
There have been flashes, however, including a spectacular hanger in Round 1 against the Western Bulldogs — a grab that could see him take back-to-back mark of the year crowns.
“I’ve always loved flying for marks,” Heeney says.
Asked what gives him the most joy, he says: “It’s a good question. I think hangers get more publicity, but sometimes they can hurt, which is never great.
“Making a big tackle gets me up and about and other lads, too. But a good goal you can celebrate with the lads afterwards, which is probably the best feeling there is.”
It’s a feeling Heeney plans on experience for many more years at the SCG.
He turned down rival approaches to sign a five-year contract extension in 2016 and he remains tied to the Swans until the end of 2022.
Despite playing in an era of greater player movement than ever before, Heeney doesn’t see his future lying anywhere else.
The good times may have momentarily passed, but he remains committed and determined to engineer there return.
“I was extremely fortunate to slip into a club that was so successful and has been for so long. I was very lucky to play in a Grand Final in my second year,” he said.
“Obviously it’s a bit of a lull at the moment and I understand clubs go through that and we’re trying to snap out of that.
“I’ll stick by the Swans. I’d love to be a one-club player and I just hope we can make this lull as small as possible and that we can turn it all around as quickly as possible.”
Originally published as Isaac Heeney says Sydney has moved away from ‘Swans footy’ but can resurrect its ailing season
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