Heeney: Swans siege mentality lays ground for 2020 attack
Sydney star Isaac Heeney says the Swans have adopted a siege mentality in order to lay the groundwork for an assault on the 2020 flag, Ben Horne writes.
Sydney
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Future Swans leader Isaac Heeney has revealed an us-against-them mentality has been the catalyst behind the inspiring platform the Bloods have built for a 2020 resurgence.
Superstar Lance Franklin has already been ruled out of next weekend’s clash against Port Adelaide, leaving only two possible matches for him to come back and celebrate his 300-game milestone.
Key figures Jarrad McVeigh, Sam Naismith and Colin O’Riordan are also no closer to returns.
Sydney has won just six matches this season, but have only been blown out of the water by 30 points or more on one occasion, this in a year where they have been inflicted by an injury crisis.
It’s been thanks in no small part to an old fashioned siege mentality.
The Swans were written off early in the year as doomsday predictions came in about how long a rebuild might take.
Critics wondered whether the Swans were waving the white flag by dumping key back Lewis Melican in the same week Dane Rampe had been ruled out with a freak eye injury.
But Sydney’s gutsy two-point loss to GWS illustrated the toughness that suddenly has the young Swans well-placed to immediately challenge for finals again next year.
Heeney admits the young playing group has used the wave of outside voices writing them off to fuel their extraordinary defiance in the imposing odds that have been stacked against them.
“We haven’t been blown out all year (except once against the Giants at the SCG), and that’s credit to the lads. We used that stuff (predictions of a thrashing) throughout the week as a bit of motivation,” said Heeney.
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“The beauty of living in Sydney is you don’t get as much of that outside noise and you try and push it aside. (But) if you can use that as motivation, why not.
“Sometimes it comes into play, other times we go into it knowing we can win.”
Heeney credited coach John Longmire for his ability to leave names and reputations at the dressing room door.
Losing star power generally stalls the best of teams, but Longmire has instilled in his side an attitude that they can compete with whoever is wearing the jersey.
“Horse does an amazing job with that. He instils confidence in all the lads that it doesn’t matter about personnel. And we nearly proved that (on Saturday night) against such a quality side in the Giants,” said Heeney.
“Where are they? Fourth? We go into each week knowing we can win it with a really good young squad and it’s just a matter of Horse building that confidence and pushing that personnel aside.
“Obviously, ideally we’d love them out there, but realistically it’s not there. It’s just a matter of going in confident and producing performances like this.”
Foundation stones are being set for next year even if the Swans are anchored to the bottom of this year’s ladder.
Longmire, however, insists the results do matter and his team needs to relearn how to win close games.
“We’re learning. But we’ve got to find a way to work through it. They’re lessons that are learned but they’re costly ones,” Longmire said.
“Part of development is actually making sure that we win. We were just short of that at the moment. (Is it) glass half empty, or glass half full?”
Originally published as Heeney: Swans siege mentality lays ground for 2020 attack
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