Family support revs up Heeney
ISAAC Heeney will be listening for a whistle of a different kind.
When Sydney’s boy wonder runs on to the MCG for Saturday’s Grand Final, he will wait for the pre-game sound he’s been hearing since he started playing soccer as a sixyear-old.
It’s the piercing whistle of his mum, Rochelle, perfected on the family farm in Stockrington, 25km west of Newcastle, where Heeney and older brother Beau were raised.
“Since my boys started playing football they have always wanted to know where dad and mum were in the crowd,” Rochelle said.
“As they run out I have an extremely loud whistle and I do one short and sharp whistle. They look around and wave and then they seem to be settled.
“It does startle a few people, but they look around at (husband) Adam because they think ‘that couldn’t have come from a woman’. He just smiles back and I sit there looking like a lady.”
The bright lights of the AFL have done nothing to dull the bond between mother and son. Not when both parents made enormous sacrifices for their kids in what was a tough upbringing at times.
“I said to Isaac last week ‘do you still want me to whistle?’ and he said: ‘Yes mum, that’s part of my ritual,’ ” Rochelle said.
“We’ll be there early when there’s not many people in the crowd and we’ll stand up and whistle when he’s warming up and he’ll be happy.”
Rochelle and Adam will travel to Melbourne still in shock at their son’s rapid rise, having convinced their employers it was an occasion that demanded time off work.
“We never really thought about him playing in a Grand Final because I never thought one of my boys would actually make this sort of level.
“We just did sport because it was great for boys to do and he just kept progressing and progressing.”
Heeney acknowledges the whirlwind rise that’s taken him from 2014 academy pick to last year’s 14-game debut season to integral member of the 2016 Swans side.
“It has happened very quickly. Obviously I’m in a pretty fortunate position to play in a game like this in my second year,” Heeney said.
Heeney admitted his mind had wandered a “little bit” to thoughts of premiership glory, but each time he snaps back into the belief he just has to play his role.
“It’s important for me to stay calm and just focus on my own game,” he said.
That game has gone to another level at the most important time of the year, with Heeney re-energised first by a mid-season rest and secondly by a change of role.
“Mentally and physically I was just drained midyear. I think Horse (coach John Longmire) picked up on it before I did,” Heeney said.
“He said: ‘Mate, you’re obviously not performing like you have been, what’s going on?’ and he was like ‘we’ll give you a week off, it’s a good time of the year to do it.’ ”
The 20-year-old has been released on a wing in Sydney’s last two finals, gathering 32 possessions against Adelaide and 28 against Geelong.
“It’s incredible. I grew up playing through the midfield and I just love it there,” he said.