ASHLEA Treasure enjoyed a perfect AFL Fantasy Classic season.

A hot start helped the Western Australian to a thrilling victory that wasn’t sewn up until the dying moments of the second last game of the season.

Treasure picked a starting squad featuring players with low ownership who ended up being fantastic points of difference, staying a step ahead of the competition. By round three, she was inside the top 100 ranked coaches and spent more than half of the season ranked in the top 15.

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Ranked No.1 for the three rounds leading into round 23, it was a tense battle with the top three teams chopping and changing positions on Sunday afternoon until a couple of late mark/kicks saw Ashlea become the 2021 AFL Fantasy Classic champion.

We caught up with Ashlea for a Q&A after winning the Toyota HiLux valued at $60,000 and tickets to the 2021 Toyota AFL Grand Final.

How does it feel to be the AFL Fantasy Classic champion for 2021?

Very surreal to be honest. I still cannot believe it. I am very overwhelmed!

How long have you been playing AFL Fantasy?

It’s the first time I’ve played!

All of my family have played it for years and I feel like all I constantly hear about is Fantasy so I thought I’d enter my own team this year.

If you can’t beat them join them.

I also thought I was going to have a lot of spare time on my hands as I have a six-month-old baby and have been on maternity leave this year. Turns out I just added way more fuel to the fire. I don’t know what I was thinking about having more spare time!

You’re a West Coast supporter. Where did the Bombers part of your name come from?

My husband’s local amateur football club he played at is called the ‘Bombers’. We started a mixed netball team a few years ago with some of his old teammates and friends so we kept the Bombers name going. We all wore the club gear as our uniform. So I thought I would once again keep the Bombers name going for my Fantasy team.

Ashlea’s scores, team value and rankings

It was a thrilling finish with just 11 points separating the top three in the end. What were the nerves like on Sunday afternoon in the final stages of Essendon v Collingwood?

I was too nervous to watch so we decided to go watch my bother play soccer instead to keep busy. I didn’t check any scores and then my phone started blowing up saying that I was on top. Nick Hind and Steele Sidebottom had late marks and kicks to win it.

So you didn’t write down all the scenarios or track all of the unique picks via a spreadsheet?

I definitely didn’t use a spreadsheet! I’m a nurse and haven’t really had to master Excel, so I am absolutely hopeless with that stuff!

My team was already pretty unique so the plan was to keep it that way and hopefully the result would take care of itself. Because my team was so unique (and having a new born) it was too hard to keep track of the other teams. It wasn’t until the last round that I noted high ownership of other teams.

You took a lead of 67 points into the last round. What was your strategy for the final round trades? What was your thought process trading Tim Taranto to Zak Jones?

I thought the teams below me were stronger and a 67-point lead wasn’t enough to defend, so I still had to attack.

Tim Taranto was highly owned and had played three of his last four games as a forward with little-to-no CBAs. I thought he was going to be 60-70 if playing forward and 90-100 if he went into the midfield. So in my eyes it was worth the risk to go a unique midfielder. I had no cash available to upgrade so it had to be a sideways trade. I really like the St Kilda v Fremantle match up for midfielders as Fremantle leak points. After Luke Dunstan was dropped, I really liked Zak Jones to take those extra CBAs.

I thought Jones was good for 90-100. That would have had him even with Taranto if he played in the midfield and had a chance of a higher score (125+). In the end, they pretty much cancelled each other’s score out so it didn’t impact either way but I still think it was the right play for my team.

Let’s go back to the beginning of the season. What were your key initial selections that got you off to such a good start?

I started with Rory Laird, Zach Merrett, Andrew Brayshaw, Darcy Parish and Tim Taranto which were great picks and stayed in my team for the season. Taranto was traded out in the last round.

From memory my good rookie picks were James Jordon, Errol Gulden, Chad Warner and Matt Flynn but I think these were pretty common.

At round two, you ranked 17th for the week which took you to 138th overall and then it was into the top 100 not long after. What was your trading strategy early on?

Early days I was just reacting to the injuries and players being dropped. The theory was crisis creates opportunity. Jarrod Witts’ knee and Hayden Young’s hamstring equalled Max Gawn and Deven Robertson coming in. Zak Butters’ injury became Tom Stewart and Jordan De Goey’s concussion led to Tom Mitchell and so on.

I generally tried to keep players on my bench generating cash. In round two I had a trade I didn’t know what to do with so I burned it and brought in Jack Saunders, who never played, to get James Jordon’s 100 emergency score off my bench. Saunders was then traded in round three.

I was just having fun and playing for the banter and not taking it too seriously, but it worked out. Probably not a recommended move.

When did the byes start dictating your moves?

The byes didn’t dictate my moves at all in the lead up to them. Once they started I tried to choose the best players available from the teams playing. Having the extra trades helped cover any holes that started to appear.

The extra trade in round 14 due to the change of fixture came at the right time as it allowed me to get Ollie Wines who was a good unique. The spread of my team was probably more by luck than design to be honest.

You made it into the top 10 overall after the byes ranking sixth. What was your aim after the byes?

I had a couple of rookies left on the field; Matt Flynn in the ruck and Isaac Cumming in defence. They were scoring well enough so I was happy with them. My main aim was having a strong midfield after the byes. I think I was successful with Tim Taranto, Zach Merrett, Darcy Parish, Tom Mitchell, Jack Steele, Ollie Wines, Andrew Brayshaw and Lachie Whitfield who was ready to be flipped to defence.

Ashlea’s captains and trades

* Vice captain score taken.

What were your best trades of the season?

In round seven I traded the injured Josh Dunkley to Jack Steele who averaged 128 from that point.

During round 14, the final bye round, I was able to trade four rookies to bring in Ollie Wines, Lachie Bramble, Kieren Briggs and James Madden which helped me finish the byes strongly.

When Scott Pendlebury got injured in round 20, I brought in Dayne Zorko. I was thinking Callum Mills but thought the forward options were thinned. Mills scored 152 that week, but missed two of the next three.

Were there any bad moves? Do the best make mistakes?!

Defintiely! In round 17 while I was in the top 10, instead of going Brodie Grundy as captain against a ruckless Richmond, I decided to be ‘unique’ and go Lachie Whitfield who started very slowly then suffered a concussion in the second quarter for 28. I thought my season was done there and then!

Do you have any tips for coaches when picking their team for 2022?

Try to pick a couple of underpriced or young midfielders with a chance to increase their scoring due to a position change or increased opportunity is a great starting place. This was Andrew Brayshaw and Darcy Parish for me.

Next season I will be considering Caleb Serong as he looks ready to take the next step. He should be helped with Adam Cerra leaving Fremantle. Tarryn Thomas is developing nicely also.

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