Isaac Heeney plays 100th game for Sydney Swans as James Bell makes his debut against Port Adelaide

Future Swans skipper Isaac Heeney says it will be a ‘special moment’ when his mate James Bell runs out for his first AFL game this weekend.

Future Swans skipper Isaac Heeney expects debutant James Bell to “run amok” against Port Adelaide in Saturday’s milestone clash for the pair.

As the 23-year-old clocks up 100 games, his good friend Bell will make his senior debut for the red and whites.

Heeney has embraced his leadership role this season and thrived as a mentor to the youngsters coming through at the club, including Bell. Both are products of the Swans Academy.

The Swans captured the moment Bell phoned his mum to tell her he was making his debut, an emotional exchange that has caused more than a few others to wipe their eyes after it was shared on social media earlier this week – Heeney included.

“To be really close with him, and see how emotional he was actually got me a little bit emotional,” Heeney said. “It’s going to be a special weekend.

“We both came through the Academy and we both played other sports growing up. If wasn’t for the Academy we probably wouldn’t be playing together on the weekend. They’ve been amazing and given us that pathway to pursue our dream.

“We spend a lot of time together. We go fishing, we go swimming and surfing together. We have the same hobbies off the field and he’s obviously he’s got the drive on the field as well and I love that about him.

“He’s a pretty talented player. He’s skilful and he’s quick and he’s hard. If his head’s up and he’s confident, he’ll be running amok I hope.”

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James Bell will make his AFL debut for the Swans on Saturday. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Despite still only being young himself, Heeney understands the importance of setting and demanding high standards – with retiring teammate Jarrad McVeigh the benchmark.

“It’s (about) making sure my backyard’s clean, being really professional on and off the field,” he said.

“I’ve said it before, he (McVeigh) is probably the best leader I’ve ever seen – on and off the field. He’s set the pathway for the likes of Luke Parker and Dane Rampe, then myself and Callum Mills and Tom Papley. There’s a lot of people pushing through and it’s promising for the club.

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“Our culture has been so strong because of our amazing leaders.”

And as for one day captaining the Swans?

“Definitely. I’d love to one day captain the club, but that’s down the track,” he said.

Heeney struggled with ankle injury early in the campaign but says his body is feeling fresh as the Swans head into their final three fixtures of the regular season – a campaign that will end without finals football.

Isaac Heeney has become a leader at the Swans. Picture: Phil Hillyard

It’s unknown territory for Heeney.

“I might get away from everything (in September),” he said. “Get away from the city, away from footy and refresh.

“‘Horse’ and the coaching staff are good at pushing us away and just saying ‘go and refresh, regroup’ and then we come back and start the pre-season really strong.”

As for this weekend’s challenge, Heeney expects ninth-placed Port to be full of belief after beating Essendon last week.

“They’ll be super confident, but so will we,” he said. “We’re coming off a tight loss (to the Giants) and we know we played some pretty good footy and we’ve got a few things to work on that will keep us in the game with those better teams.”