Heeney's rise pleases Swans coach

The rise of 18-year-old Isaac Heeney is pleasing Sydney Swans coach John Longmire, who has banked consecutive AFL wins.

Sydney's Isaac Heeney (L) celebrates a goal with Lance Franklin

The rise of 18-year-old Isaac Heeney (L) is pleasing Sydney Swans AFL coach John Longmire. (AAP)

Sydney Swans revelation Isaac Heeney had never been to South Australia before, let alone played an AFL game there.

So his coach John Longmire says the 18-year-old second-gamer deserves some credit for his efforts in Sydney's 48-point belting of Port Adelaide on Saturday night.

"He has still got some things he's learning and getting used to, it's his first time to South Australia for a start," Longmire said after Heeney collected 17 influential disposals.

"There are things he has just got to be getting used to on a football ground and how it works at this level.

"But you saw in the last 20 minutes of the game, he was still running well and competing really hard.

"And that is what he is good at, he's just a good hard competitor. He can take an overhead mark but he loves to tackle and he puts enormous pressure on.

"He has got that foundation of his game pretty solid."

Longmire's Swans host home-town rivals Greater Western Sydney on Saturday at the SCG, with both teams unbeaten.

"It should be great to get back on the SCG, against a terrific team," he said.

"They have developed pretty quickly, GWS, they have got some super players.

"They have got a list that is pretty talented and they work hard and they're well coached, so they're a good team."


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Source: AAP


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