AFL superstar Isaac Heeney has opened up on the toll of Sydney’s grand final humiliation, and admitted that watching it again — under new coach Dean Cox’s orders — was a painful and “confronting” experience.
Cox, who has taken over the coaching reins from John Longmire, forced the team to watch the agonising 10-goal loss ahead of the pre-season, and it was particularly brutal for Heeney.
The forward turned midfielder, who had capped off his most prolific season in the AFL with a sparkling finals campaign, was a non-factor in the most important game of all.
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It later emerged that he had a stress fracture in his ankle and he could barely run after a tackle early in the decider against Brisbane.
Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS, Heeney was asked if it “hurt” when watching the replay of the brutal match.
“It did, absolutely,” he told Channel 7.
“It was tough. I’ve never probably (felt) the impact of a loss like I did in that grand final. I rode it pretty hard, and it took a bit of a toll.
“So it was nice to come in (and watch it and) it was pretty confronting but, at the same time, it was something we needed to do to get over it.”
But he admitted the team needed to learn from it, “and that’s what we did”.
“We went in and had a full day of meetings and arguably the best day of meetings I’ve ever had,” he said.
“It was a pretty special day, a vulnerable day, and one that we’ve got some key learnings out of.
“We’ll make sure we go into to next season, ready and raring (to go) and we can learn from that, and hopefully it never happens again.”
Heeney was quizzed about taking his place in the game, knowing he was carrying an injury.
“Well, I went into it feeling good,” he told 7NEWS.
“Obviously (I had been) battling with that throughout the whole of the finals, and I felt like I had a pretty good finals campaign leading into the grand final.
“And it was coming into that game, I actually felt OK.
“I was pretty sore after the Port (preliminary final), but I did everything I could throughout the week and went into game feeling feeling alright, and definitely well enough to play and play good.
“And then, yeah, halfway through the first quarter, I got tackled and run down from behind, and it just fell under me.
“And that’s what caused it to get worse and worse throughout the game. And then, yeah, … by the start of the last quarter I obviously couldn’t run.
“And I tried to (run), I went on, and they pulled me straight off, and I just I couldn’t run.
“So hindsight is a wonderful thing and if I knew I was gonna get tackled in that position, then absolutely not (I wouldn’t have played).
“But going into it, I felt comfortable enough to play and play a really good role, but obviously it didn’t fall that way.”
Heeney said the handover between Cox and Longmire had been seamless and there were plenty of similarities.
“I think there are certain elements that are definitely still the same, but yeah, (Dean) has definitely got his own little tweaks on things.
“And I think you look at Horse (Longmire), you got to learn from the best, and he’s arguably one of the best.
“So if you change it completely, whether it’s kind of testing different waters when, they’re already tested for you, so you don’t really need to reinvent the wheel.
“It’s a certain degree but he’s definitely got his own twist on things, and I absolutely love it, it’s nice and refreshing.
“And he’s just a ripping, ripping person, too. And yes, it was a confronting first day but at the same time as an amazing first day.”
He said his foot was coming along and he was hopeful of being fully fit for the opening round of the season.
“It’s been a slow, slow process, but we’re aiming to be back in full training at the start of January, which will allow me to hit the season running,” he said.
“At the moment, I’m doing really well. It’s just been slow, as expected, but no hurdles, and I feel pretty good.
“I was about seven weeks of no running, in a boot for a month, so I’m coming back now and feeling great.
“It’s feeling nice and strong and had no hurdles, so Round 1 is definitely on the cards.”
The Swans have their first official pre-season hitout against Gold Coast on February 28, and they host fierce rival Hawthorn in a season-opener blockbuster on March 7.
In a baptism of fire, their second match of the year (Round 1) is also at the SCG where they will take on reigning premiers Brisbane.
