- Isaac Heeney completely fooled his mother on live radio
- The star will be key to the Swans’ chances of reaching the grand final
Isaac Heeney will be a key figure as the Swans chase AFL championship glory on Friday night, but he once tricked his mother into believing he would be in the running for an NRL grand final.
In 2021, Heeney dropped a bombshell on his mother Rochelle on live radio, informing her he was switching football codes after accepting a massive $2 million NRL contract from the Sydney Roosters.
His response will not make rugby league fans happy.
“Fuck, drunk, it’s a game for idiots,” she replied on Nova FM’s Fitzy and Wippa show after initially being supportive.
Eventually, Rochelle was put out of her misery by her youngest son who confessed that it had been an on-air prank.
Before choosing AFL as his path, Heeney excelled in multiple sports while growing up in the Hunter region of New South Wales, including soccer, cricket and, you might have guessed, rugby league.
But Aussie rules was Heeney’s passion, and he moved to Sydney as a teenager, where he completed his final year of school at Waverley College.
Heeney made his AFL debut in 2015 and on Friday night against Port Adelaide in the preliminary final at the SCG, he scored his 200th game.
“I’m a competitor, so I want to go in and be known as someone who doesn’t shy away from any competition and leads by example,” Heeney said this week ahead of his historic bout.
Isaac Heeney will be a key figure as the Swans chase AFL Championship glory this September, and when he’s not chasing Sherrin, the superstar midfielder has a great sense of humour.
In 2021, as part of a radio prank, Heeney told his mother Rochelle (pictured left) that he was switching football codes after accepting a $2 million NRL contract from the Sydney Roosters.
The decorated Swans midfielder, who will play his 200th game for the Swans on Friday night, is pictured with his girlfriend Steffie Waters.
‘Horse’ (trainer John Longmire) sometimes says, ‘All right, buddy, we need something from you here.
‘Whether I’m having a little bit of a quiet game and he needs to motivate me to get going… or he just needs me to stand up and try to take control of the game.
“If I can be one of those players, I would love to.”
Heeney’s heroics could be needed on Friday at home as the Swans attempt to overcome an eight-match losing streak against Port Adelaide that stretches back to 2016.
The Power also humiliated this season’s minor premiers by 112 points last month, taking a 71-point lead before the Bloods recorded their first score.
“We have to play well on Friday,” Heeney said. “When we’re on the field, we’re controlling the lanes and we’re playing well on the ball, it’s hard to beat us.”
‘That (the 112-point defeat) was a thing of the past and we were a bit out of form at that stage, so I feel like we’re back.
“A win is a win. I don’t care if it’s one point or twenty.”
