Feeling right at home: Acres on journeyman career, Carlton move and fan-favourite status

Blake Acres elevated his game magnificently in the white-hot glare of last year’s finals. JONO BARUCH from the AFL Record charts how a football journeyman became an integral part of the Carlton midfield and an instant fan favourite.

Blake Acres thought he had ruined his chance of making a good first impression.

In the dying stages on his first night as a Blue against Richmond in the opening game of 2023, Acres spilled an easy uncontested mark at half-forward. It would have given him the chance to kick the game winner and become an instant hero at Carlton.

Seconds later the siren went with the scores level.

What would have been the start start at his third football home was instead an error that took him days to get over.

However, as the lights shone brightest on the big stage in September, Acres sealed his place in Carlton folklore and earned his status as a true Blue for life.

It’s a title that has grown to become more comfortable for Acres in recent weeks after signing a contract extension to stay with the Blues, keeping him at the club until the end of the 2027.

Locked in for the long-term, 'Wandering Blake' finally feels at home.

He did not want it to ever be this way.

From the day St Kilda read out his name at the 2013 national draft, Acres wanted to be a one club player for his entire career.

He spent six years and played 75 games for the Saints, many of which were interrupted by injuries before he was reluctantly traded to Fremantle as part of the club’s pursuit of Bradley Hill.

The move did have had a silver lining for the West Australian.

"I was at home, back in Perth. Playing in front of friends and family. It was like a dream of mine," Acres told the AFL Record.

"Footy is all about opportunity … you got to move on pretty quick."

Despite being in career-best form to start the 2022 season, Acres was admittedly shocked that the Dockers didn't reconsider their initial contract offer to him. It was an offer that only arrived when the 28-year-old had just been sidelined with a hamstring injury.

"I got injured the week before the bye and I felt shattered," he said.

"When you're out of contract and haven't got anything on the table, that's when you start worrying. Then something comes when I was injured, at sort of your most vulnerable position when you're not playing so that's a bit of a kick in the face.

"I felt like I'd played some of my best footy up until that stage. I didn't want to ask for too much because I felt like we had a good team at Freo and felt that we would be playing finals for a long time."

That’s when Acres seized the moment to "take control of my own career".

Having read the writing on the wall, Acres and his management sought the best option to secure his football future.

Here was some surprise in the market that were shocked that he was seeking another move given his form and that he was back playing in his home state.

"You're still always hoping towards the back end of the year trying to perform the best you can and maybe something might have changed but it didn't eventuate that way," he said.

"There were one or two other clubs that had registered interest, but Carlton was definitely at the top of the list straight away.

"Once they were keen, it was pretty much done after that."

After being best on ground for the Dockers in a semi-final loss to Collingwood at the MCG, the last of his 45 games for the club, Acres was weeks later traded to Carlton for just a future third round pick.

“We weren't prepared to go to the length or term of the contract offer that Carlton offered,“ Fremantle list boss David Walls said at the conclusion of the 2022 trade period.

“We feel we are well positioned to cover his departure on the wing. Nathan O‘Driscoll played really well this year … guys like Liam Henry (since departed), Michael Frederick, Matthew Johnson and Karl Worner have the capability to step into that role.

“We also have half-backs who we might look at moving up the ground in Jordan Clark, Hayden Young or Heath Chapman.”

Carlton's head of Football Brad Lloyd, along with List Manager Nick Austin identified Acres as an option to boost the Blues' wing stocks and add more run to its midfield group.

"We wanted a wingman that could support this team and bring a bit of run through that part of the ground. Blake , through speaking to his management halfway through the year, became an option," Lloyd told the AFL Record.

"We thought, with his size, running capacity, experience and the fact he was possibly coming available, we thought that he could be a really good fit for us."

While it’s been a journey for Acres to find his career-best form, Former St Kilda recruiter Tony Elshaug, the man that drafted him had faith he would be able to fulfill his potential as one of the league’s most versatile wingers.

Despite his injuries in his draft year, Elshaug didn’t hesitate to draft him when he was still available at pick 19.

"I sort of envisaged that he had the capabilities of playing the wing and then fundamentally, hopefully go on the inside one day," Elshaug told the AFL Record.

“For three years at the start of his career there he was injured, it’s hard to develop and settle when you have those stop-start flashpoints early in your career. You need continuity. Blake's getting that now. Even when he went to Fremantle his first year, he got injured . But he's played the last 60 games in a row now. He's been very durable.

“What's been evident to me, particularly the last two years, he's really developed well around stoppages. He’s got the ability to absorb pressure and win the ball in tight and give away good handballs to players on the outside.”

Acres knew what he would be walking into when he made the move, but he didn't comprehend how big Carlton was.

"I always thought Charlie (Curnow) and Harry (McKay), like that, is an incredible forward line to be kicking into," he said.

"Having Crippa (Patrick Cripps) he's an absolute star and to play with someone like that would be unbelievable. I've known Crippa for a long time … having that relationship with him made it a lot easier to come to Carlton.

"I felt like that team that they had put together I knew they were that close to potentially playing finals footy … I felt like they had the makings of a great football team.”

Despite the rocky start and patchy form, Acres has felt the warm embrace from the Carlton faithful. He pinpointed the surge into finals as the moment he knew he’d struck gold.

“When we started on that big win streak that was a real eye-opener what Carlton is and how good of a club this is. That’s when I knew I'd made the right decision to come here,” he said.

“(2023) was one of the most fun years I’ve had.”

He's become a key plank of Carlton's team bringing all his knowledge and leadership to the Blues' locker room, something Carlton footy boss Brad Lloyd said Acres has been proactive in since settling into Princes Park.

"In team meetings, he's all over the game plan and what we'd like to do,” Lloyd said.

“He shows real leadership in the way he plays, he's quite prominent in and around the club, supporting what Vossy and the coaches are trying to do with the game plan.

"We've got some developing wingmen coming through that are able to learn from him, and he's able to mentor them in the role.

"His form has been outstanding … he certainly won over the fans throughout the second part of last year. Thankfully he's been able to play a lot of footy for us since he got here, and we hope there's plenty more to come.”

While his finals heroics will live long in the memory bank, Acres, while happy to be able to contribute in a meaningful way on the scoreboard, stated that he wants to become a “reliable” two-way runner for the Blues.

"You kick a nice goal here, or save one on the goal line, it can change pretty quick, but it can go the other way as well, but I'm just trying to make sure I'm being a reliable player," Acres said.

"Whether it’s getting back and getting a fingertip on a goal that's going through or maybe I'm sneaking forward at the end of the game.

“I just feel like I just try to do my job now.

"If that puts you in a position to mark the footy and kick a goal or get back to support the backs, that's just my job. Maybe it will come again, if not, I'm happy doing what I'm doing.”

Acres is taking the time to lap it up a bit more and enjoy the adulation coming his way from the Carlton fans. Making him feel even more at home.

"I probably didn't enjoy it at my previous clubs … but you get so many fans down here and you see how committed they are to the club ... it's hard not to be immersed in it all here,” he said.

“I'm starting to enjoy it a lot more now.

"That rollercoaster we went on last year, you have to give back to these guys because they were in it with us and there for the hard times.

“The momentum they bought us last season and what they're doing this season for us, it’s been awesome.”