ASHLEY Sheils was gobsmacked when he received the phone call from the Sydney Swans telling him that he’d won third prize in the QBE Sydney Swans Academy Raffle.

Ashley visited the Swans SCG offices on Wednesday afternoon where he was presented with the $3,000 Bing Lee gift card by new Swans Development Coach Henry Playfair.

“I was gobsmacked to be honest. I got a phone call and I was like you’re joking. But here I am, it’s sensational,” an excited Ashley said.

Ashley bought five tickets in the raffle, and has supported other raffles the Swans have run in the past.

“I didn’t really know much about the Academy when I bought the tickets. They told me there was a raffle raising funds for a youth academy, which I think is fantastic. And I was like, good cause, lock it in,” he said.

Ashley was first introduced to the sport through his best mate, whose father had been a Swans member for years.

“I used to follow the codes and started following the Swans and going to Swans games with them and got hooked basically,” Ashley said.
 
“I like everything about the game - taking a mark and the fact that the players can run non-stop for that amount of time, it is just insane.”

Ashley is still undecided on how he is going to spend the gift card, with friends trying to convince him to buy a new TV.

“Everyone’s like what sort of TV are you going to get. But I don’t know. I might do the safe thing and get whitegoods but we’ll see.”