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Isaac Heeney in 'awful' scenes as Swans torched over 'embarrassing' mistake in AFL grand final

John Longmire took another selection gamble against Brisbane, and it backfired once again.

sam goodwin
Sports Editor
·4-min read

Sydney Swans coach John Longmire is facing the brutal reality that another selection gamble has backfired in an AFL grand final. Longmire admitted after the 2022 decider that he shouldn't have picked an underdone Sam Reid, after it came back to bite him when they were thrashed by Geelong.

He was wary of making the same mistake in 2024 and didn't pick skipper Callum Mills due to a hamstring injury. Mills trained at 100 per cent during the week in a bid to prove his fitness, but the Swans' staff decided it was too risky to play him.

Isaac Heeney and Logan McDonald during the AFL grand final.
Isaac Heeney was left disconsolate, while Logan McDonald had to be subbed out injured. Image: Getty/AAP

Part of the decision was based around the fact they wanted to play Logan McDonald, who injured his ankle in the preliminary final win over Port Adelaide. McDonald didn't get out of a walk at training all week, but Longmire still took a huge gamble by playing him in Saturday's decider.

But it too backfired when the Swans were forced to sub McDonald out just after half-time. McDonald could barely walk as he finally succumbed to the injury, and had no impact on the first half as the Lions stunned the Swans with a stunning blitz, going on to win 120-60.

John Longmire on the Sydney Swans bench.
John Longmire's gamble with Logan McDonald backfired. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Sydney fans were left fuming that Longmire had seemingly made the same mistake again, and were highly critical of the coach on social media. Inspirational leader Isaac Heeney also came from the ground in the final term and looked shattered on the bench.

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Longmire had dismissed concerns over McDonald's fitness in his press conference on Friday, but said of Mills: "Really difficult for Millsy, no question about that. He did everything he needed to do at training, trained absolutely flat-out.

"But then when we sat down without the emotion of it and looked at it and thought the challenges of getting through four quarters was always going to be there and had to make the tough call. It was a tough one for him, but hopefully best for the team."

Sydney Swans players during the AFL grand final.
The Sydney Swans were left shell-shocked in the AFL grand final. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/AFL Photos/Getty Images)

Longmire said younger players in the Swans group had assumed more leadership responsibility with Mills out. "We have a strong core group of players ... Dane (Rampe), some of the other more experienced players, Lloydy, (Jake Lloyd) those guys, who've been around a bit," Longmire side.

"It's also our younger guys, (who) have played a bit of footy together. So they've taken the responsibility as well, it's not just the more mature, older guys.

"We rely upon our younger group as well, coming through, who are able to lead in their own way. Sometimes that's in a bit of a different way, but we've found that really beneficial this year, that those guys have been able to do what they need to do. That impacts the team in a really positive way."

with AAP