Sydney superstar Isaac Heeney has started 2024 in an almost unprecedented fashion.
The forward-turned-midfielder claimed seven coaches' votes in Sydney’s Round 7 win over Hawthorn after kicking three goals to go with 21 disposals. He now sits on 54 votes, 17 ahead of Zach Merrett in second.
It’s only the second time that a player has had more than 50 votes at this stage of the season, with Nat Fyfe in 2015 the only player to have more with 58 after seven games.
Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson also thinks that Heeney’s early push is better than that of Nick Daicos in 2023 after the young Pie burst out of the gates in his second AFL season.
“You're going to mention the Brownlow and we know that he's going to be the frontrunner for the Brownlow medal this year,” Johnson said on SEN Sportsday.
“But you look at last year and we were just pumped with what Nick Daicos was doing in the competition at this stage.
“In Round 7 (2023), Nick had 45 coaches' votes. The next best was on 33.
“So, when you look at Isaac Heeney on 54 coaches' votes to this particular point in the season, it's just outstanding. Zach Merrett is on 37 with a bit of a bolt at the moment.
“The next best after that is Max Gawn on 33.”
Heeney has now picked up the most coaches' votes in five games, while he’s also polled in the other two that he’s played.
Johnson believes that the Swan could find himself on about 18 Brownlow votes as a result at this early stage, and with 16 games remaining, he believes that Heeney could claim the award with just five more outstanding games.
“Isaac Heeney might be on about 18 votes at the moment in terms of the Brownlow medal,” Johnson said.
“So, if he is, of the remaining games left, he's got to be best on (ground) in five of them, I think, which gives him another 15 votes.
“That takes him to possibly 33. That's going to be tough to beat.”
Fyfe had 14 votes to this stage in 2015 when he had 58 coaches' votes after seven games.
He finished that year with 31 votes after having five more best afield performances. He also missed four games with injury at the back end of the season.
Heeney will hope to keep his blistering form up when the Swans face GWS in the Sydney Derby at the SCG on Saturday.
