Sydney star Isaac Heeney says loss to GWS was a blessing in disguise
SYDNEY high flyer Isaac Heeney admits he owes the GWS Giants a debt of gratitude for smashing the Swans in the qualifying final.
Sydney
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FOR Sydney, it was the loss they had to have.
Swans high flyer Isaac Heeney admits he owes the GWS Giants a debt of gratitude for embarrassing their cross-town rivals in the qualifying final at ANZ Stadium.
The shock 36-point loss spurred the Swans into action, and has them perfectly primed for Saturday’s grand final against the Western Bulldogs.
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“I believe it was a bit of a blessing in disguise,” Heeney told The Daily Telegraph.
“They embarrassed us and we were like gee, we’ve finished No. 1 on the ladder for a reason but we’ve come out and produced something like that — should we be No. 1 or should we be having that second chance?
“And I think we were blessed to have that second chance and having that bit of a wake-up call has really fired us on for the last two weeks so hopefully we can maintain it going into the granny.”
The response from Sydney was immediate: they took care of the highly fancied Adelaide Crows by the same margin they lost to GWS (36 points) with Heeney leading the way with a stunning 32 possession performance including nine marks and a goal.
His encore performance at the MCG the following week against Geelong was even better as he tackled his heart out.
He believes if the Swans bring the same energy to Saturday’s grand final they will be very hard to beat.
“I think it’s just knowing that if we bring our hit and intensity around the footy it’s that we can match it if not beat any team in the comp,” Heeney said.
“I think if we’re sharp and our reaction times are on with our intensity and energy around the footy is going to be a massive step towards a win come grand final day.”
The Swans have made a habit of starting fast this season, winning 17 of the 22 first quarters in the home and away season.
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They lost the opening quarter against the Giants in round one of the finals but bounced back to outscore the Crows by four goals in the first term and belted the Cats by seven to nil in the same period at the MCG.
“Our first 15-30 minutes against Adelaide and Geelong was all we focused on and to hit them hard like we did was a massive contributor to our win,” Heeney said.
“We’ll be looking to make a strong start against the Bulldogs on Saturday.”