- Kane Cornes has criticized Isaac Heeney’s great final excuse
- Swans claim Heeney had a stress fracture in his ankle
- But Cornes believes that the midfielder did not prepare
Kane Cornes has refused to believe Isaac Heeney’s stress fracture ‘excuse’ following his woeful performance in the AFL Grand Final.
Heeney, who had been a Brownlow Medal candidate before his suspension ruled him out of the competition, failed to deliver for the Swans when they were beaten by Brisbane in a 60-point demolition at the MCG.
He walked off the football field midway through the final quarter and Sydney coach John Longmire revealed after the game that his star man has been battling a stress fracture in his ankle during the finals series.
But Cornes debunked that claim, pointing to Heeney’s 11-touch performance in their 2022 loss to Geelong to suggest the midfielder doesn’t prepare well enough for big games.
“He was the best player in football coming into this game… he was walking on water in the qualifying final,” Cornes said.
‘In the preliminary final, Port Adelaide had no answers – they were a man possessed.
“Present and not give the performance that he had throughout the year.”
Kane Cornes criticized Isaac Heeney’s big final excuse after the Sydney massacre
John Longmire claims Heeney suffered stress fracture during big game
But Kane Cornes has theorized that Heeney lacks sufficient preparation for big games.
Referring to the stress fracture excuse, Cornes said, “Yeah, well, there was no stress reaction in his shin in the preliminary final or the qualifying final, so don’t give me an injury excuse,” Cornes continued. .
’11 elimination performance in 2022, yesterday barely came close and had no influence. I just don’t want the injury excuses.
“Isaac has to analyze his preparation in the important games and why he has failed again as the best football player this year, but not on the most important stage.”