AFL news: Isaac Heeney on Sydney and turning his form around

Isaac Heeney was struggling and the Swans in danger of missing finals a year after playing in the grand final — then it all changed. The Swans star tells LACHIE MCKIRDY how.

Isaac Heeney is read to step up for Sydney’s 2023 finals campaign. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Isaac Heeney admits after nine years in Sydney, there’s one thing that he’s still slightly fearful of.

An All-Australian player last season, he’s built a reputation as a forward always willing to play beyond his size. He’s never afraid to put his body on the line.

Yet, it’s the simple things that still give him the greatest comfort.

“I’m not used to a big city,” Heeney said.

“I’ve been here for nine years now, but it’s still not my favourite place to be in.

“I prefer to be out with some animals on our farm. A bit of breathing space.”

The answer comes up again when Heeney is asked what his post-footy career could look like: “Ideally it’d be getting out of the city … but who knows, I could have grown into a city slicker.”

Heeney loves his footy, don’t get him wrong. But give him the keys to a quadbike and a couple of acres to tear it up on and you’d see a 27-year-old in his happy place.

Thinking about those comforts has been important for Heeney because it’s been far from his most comfortable year on the field for the Swans.

Indicative of their form in the first half of the year, he struggled to make an impact in the early months in a team that was beleaguered by injuries.

Heeney kicked only 10 goals across the opening 12 games of the season – well below his career-best 49 goals in 2022.

Inaccuracy in front of goal has been a recurring theme in 2023 for Heeney. Picture: Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

“In the first half (of the year) I battled a little bit with my body and then with consistency,” Heeney said.

“(It was) frustrating going off the back of last year when I felt like it was a really good, consistent year. I felt like I’d had a few good years and … had a good pre-season.

“But it went downhill body wise at the start of the year.

“Another thing throughout the year, I’ve had to jump around different roles, and it can obviously take a bit of time to get a bit of consistency with that.

“It can disrupt your own form at times, but (I’ll do) whatever Horse (John Longmire) needs me to do.”

That commitment speaks to Heeney’s professionalism. It’s a word he uses frequently because he believes it helps drive the standards around the club, something he wants to take more responsibility for.

Since Lance Franklin’s retirement, Heeney now has played the sixth-most AFL games (176) at the club — a far cry from the youngster sporting a blonde mop of hair in his debut against the Bombers in 2015.

He has to take a moment when being informed next Friday’s match against Carlton at the MCG will be the 14th final of his career.

Heeney finds himself feeding off the energy of his younger teammates. Picture: Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

“I’m nine years in but you wouldn’t have thought so, it’s going very quickly,” Heeney said.

“You look at Patrick Cripps in the other team (Carlton), he hasn’t played a final and he’s been there 10 years, so I feel very fortunate.

“I still feel fairly young, I know my body has taken a beating this year.

“(The) majority of those (young) players – Nick Blakey, Errol Gulden, Chad Warner – they’re professional, they’ve come straight into the team and they’re elite performers.

“But we’ll keep pushing them as hard as they can and get the most out of their body and the team, that’s where I’ll help.”

And he wouldn’t be a leader within the club if he didn’t heed his own advice. He sat down with Don Pyke and Jarrad McVeigh at the halfway point of the year to analyse his game with a fine-tooth comb.

Like the rest of his teammates, it was a matter of instilling the belief that he’s still the same player who starred in Sydney’s journey to the 2022 grand final.

Heeney has since kicked 20 goals in his past 10 games and looks a different player from the one that pulled on the Swans’ guernsey in the opening rounds.

The 27-year-old wasn’t at his best against Melbourne, but it could be the wake-up call he needs before finals. Picture: Jason McCawley/AFL Photos/via Getty Images

“It was sitting down with Don and Jarrad and working out exactly what my strengths are,” Heeney said. “And just getting back to those and keeping it simple.

“This year is slightly different to last year and what I was doing, players figure it out in the defensive line. So, it’s a matter of adapting.”

Some of those concerns crept back into Heeney’s game as he finished goalless against Melbourne in round 24.

It was well below his own expectations, and he knows he needs to lift if Sydney is to make a genuine run at winning the flag.

But if there’s one thing Heeney has proved throughout his time at the Swans, whether it be on the field or living in a metropolitan area, it’s that he’s very good at adapting.

Originally published as AFL news: Isaac Heeney on Sydney and turning his form around