Heeney stars for AIS against Pies

The Sydney Swans Academy product (pictured), who hails from Newcastle, battled hard all evening through as part of a well-beaten side.

Collingwood’s line-up boasted several players with significant experience in the top flight, including Tony Amstrong, Quinten Lynch, and Josh Thomas, and the Magpies ran out 73-point winners.

Heeney spent his time in the midfield, amassed plenty of the football, and was rewarded by being named in his side’s best players by new coach AIS-AFL Academy coach Brad Johnson.

Named in the NSW/ACT Rams under-18 squad as a bottom-age player for the AFL national titles last year, Heeney underlined his potential against quality opposition, the highly-rated youngster doing his draft chances a world of good, impressing along with Angus Brayshaw, Tom Lamb, and Lachie Weller.

Another NSW/ACT Ram, Liam Griffiths, also got the valuable opportunity to play on the most famous sporting ground in Australia, in front of a sizeable crowd, in the lead-up to the Hawks and Dockers Grand Final rematch.

Both Heeney and Griffiths are now in London with the AIS-AFL Academy team for the last of its four high performance camps, with Johnson overseeing his first intake as head coach.

The group will spend a week in London, playing a game against a combined European side, then stay for five days in northern Italy at the Australian Institute of Sport’s European training centre.

AIS-AFL ACADEMY    3.0    4.0   5.1       5.1 (31)   
COLLINGWOOD VFL    3.4    8.12 10.16   14.20 (104)         
 
GOALS

AIS-AFL Academy: Dawson, McCartin, Lamb, Lim, Wright

Collingwood VFL: Martin 2, Lynch 2, Gray 2, Witts 2, Kennedy, Ferguson, Couch, Williams, Wallace, Allan
 
BEST

AIS-AFL Academy: Brayshaw, Hammelmann, Lamb, Nelson, Heeney, Goddard, McLaren

Collingwood VFL: Armstrong, Kennedy, Witts, Williams, Ramsay, Gray