Heeney on Hawks' radar but Swans loaded with stars

Isaac Heeney has been in scintillating form for the Swans.

Sydney star Isaac Heeney’s red-hot start to the AFL season has Hawthorn on high alert ahead of their round-seven clash.

Heeney leads the AFL Coaches Association player of the year award with 47 of a possible 60 votes, well clear of second-placed Essendon captain Zach Merrett (27).

The 27-year-old’s scintillating form follows his switch from attack to a prominent midfield role to cover the loss of key teammates to injury.

But the Hawks are eager to avoid being sucked into putting too much focus on quelling Heeney’s influence at the MCG on Sunday.

As retired champion Lance Franklin watches his two former clubs do battle from the stands, his ex-teammate and Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell will have his hands full trying to implement plans to blunt a bevy of Swans weapons.

Mitchell this week highlighted Chad Warner, Errol Gulden, Tom Papley and ruckman Brodie Grundy as potential match-winners.

“They’ve got a few players you want to keep a pretty close eye on,” Mitchell said.

“Isaac is having a fantastic year. He’s always been that marking, mobile forward and now he’s become a dominant inside mid.

“It’s almost not fair what he’s capable of doing, isn’t it? But if you spend too much time on Isaac Heeney they’ve got too many other players (that can hurt you).”

Notoriously private Franklin will make a rare public appearance at the first meeting of his two AFL clubs since his retirement last July.

Hawthorn and Sydney will acknowledge the 354-game, 1066-goal champion’s contribution before and during the match.

The Hawks will also use “Buddy” as part of their preparation but Mitchell is keeping his cards close to his chest.

“When Lance Franklin’s coming to the MCG everyone’s pretty excited, even if it is just as a spectator,” Mitchell said.

“I won’t go into too much detail on how we’ll use him – he’s always been reasonably private in that way – but any access that we can get to lean on ‘Bud’ and his legacy will be fantastic for our player group.”

Hawthorn broke through for their first win of the season against bottom side North Melbourne last week and have a contrasting 1-5 record to high-flying Sydney (5-1).

Mitchell is seeking greater consistency from his side as the Hawks seek to take positive steps in their rebuild.

“That’s the challenge for all of us – whether that’s staff or players – to make sure that we’ve got the same focus and deliberate practice in our training to make sure that we can put together strong performances because that’s what the best sides do,” Mitchell said.

“They’re able to do it every week and they don’t ride the rollercoaster of wins and losses.”

Hawthorn have been bolstered by the return of reigning best-and-fairest winner Will Day and key forward Mitch Lewis from injuries, while the Swans are unchanged after belting Gold Coast last week.

Former Sydney captains Luke Parker (arm) and Dane Rampe (hamstring) will both be given at least one more week to overcome injuries.