Sydney Swans star Isaac Heeney getting his priorities straight ahead of Brownlow Medal chase

In a decade in the AFL and at the Sydney Swans, Isaac Heeney has never been short of attention, his ability and marketability have often demanded it, but after six rounds of the season, the spotlight has grown even brighter after pulling away as an early Brownlow Medal favourite.

Heeney has always found the balance on the field, knowing when to run for leads, and when to pull back, but he still hasn’t completely mastered the demands of being the face of the AFL in NSW, following the retirement of Lance Franklin, and the pressures that it can bring, often when he least suspects it.

“It’s a tough one because, obviously, you want to make sure that the limited time I get with the ones I love is special,” Heeney says. “So I need to make sure it’s worthwhile and I’m not being rude to them when you get people coming in [to say hello] and it’s becoming more and more which is great because the growth [of football] in NSW. At the same time, I love being in NSW and escaping the complete hype of those AFL states.

“At times you’ll be sitting at breakfast and it might be myself and my girlfriend Steph and then someone will come up, pull a chair up and talk to you for 10 to 15 minutes and that’s [my] quality time and I will never be disrespectful [to the fan]. I think at times I probably need to be a bit more firm on the people coming in, but honestly, it’s a fine line and it’s a balance.”

Heeney earned an All-Australian selection in 2022 as a forward, but he had always believed that he could make an impact as a midfielder. Before being drafted in 2014, he had played as a midfielder as a young teenager for his club, the Cardiff Hawks, against men in the Hunter Valley.

He has always played with a smile on his face, but it has grown wider this year since Swans coach John Longmire set him free in the middle of the field.

“At the end of last year, ‘Horse’ [Longmire] was like we want to get you around the ball a bit more and train full-time in midfield and due to a couple of injuries, it’s given me the opportunity to go in there and play a role that I feel like I believed I could have always played,” Heeney says.

“I’ve always been able to produce this sort of football and it’s nothing special, I mean, I have a team-first focus and work my bum off and am hard over the footy. I feel like I’ve always been able to do that, but this role primarily in midfield is a bit different. I’m loving it and working with some quality players around me.”