AFL 2023: Blake Acres goes from journeyman and whipping boy to Blues’ finals hero
Blake Acres was the Blues hero on Friday night but has he always been? Sam Landsberger tracks his career at three clubs, the quirky pranks and his recent success.
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At St Kilda they called Blake Acres “Shakes”.
Last year at Fremantle he was rebadged “Sheriff” after Acres wore a sheriff’s badge to Rory Lobb’s western-themed birthday party and then seized control of the club’s fines system.
That nickname followed Acres to Carlton. But it might need another refresh.
Sam Walsh is becoming Mr September, but Acres is the poster boy for their finals fairytales so far.
The Blues’ social media team posted: “Build the man a statue” about Acres on Friday night after he gifted the club’s army of supporters memories that will last a lifetime.
It is hard to fathom that the man traded for a pick that will fall between 51-54 in this year’s draft has kicked the Blues into a semi-final, and then kicked them into a preliminary final.
The question not even coach Michael Voss could answer is how did Acres find himself alone in the goalsquare with one minute remaining on Friday night?
Well, with a crippled collarbone, Acres attempted to smother Jake Lever’s kick at half-back, and then sprinted forward.
He rolled the dice, and when Carlton pieced together the perfect play he hit the jackpot.
The Weitering- Hollands-Docherty-Acres chain was perhaps the best the MCG has seen since the McGovern-Vardy-Ryan-Sheed link-up that unlocked West Coast’s 2018 premiership.
It was fitting that Eagle Jeremy McGovern’s brother, Mitch, was next to Acres when he dribbled the ball through to steal the semi-final.
McGovern had also pushed forward, which created that two-on-one contest for Docherty to kick to as Acres completed Carlton’s play of the century.
Bayley Fritsch had tracked McGovern and, ironically, the Demons’ leading goalkicker of the past four seasons was the only defender in sight.
Acres, 27, reckons he just sneaked the goal in by about half a metre to the right of the post.
And he opted to play on because he would’ve been “pooing” himself taking a set-shot.
The wingman knows all too well how fickle his third AFL club’s fanbase can be.
Early this season it seemed like every one of his often-skied kicks would fall into the opposition’s lap.
So when the Bluebaggers merely became baggers – and started booing their own recruit – Acres sat down with Carlton’s sports psychologist Dr Tarah Kavanagh to help process the public feedback.
It was a rough initiation for Acres, too.
Remember the round 1 draw against Richmond?
Acres spilled a mark outside half-forward and seconds later the siren sounded with scores level.
Acres was in space that night because he hadn’t rolled the dice.
Opponent Liam Baker sprinted forward at the final centre bounce to try and steal the game for the Tigers, leaving Acres alone, and when Carlton won the clearance the ball came his way.
Did that memory of Baker stick with Acres when he made the bold call to roll forward on Friday night?
It took Acres several days to get over that round 1 error.
But the next week he stood in the hole and took a defensive mark with Geelong spearhead Tom Hawkins charging his way.
“I thought I owed the ‘Baggers’ family one from last week,” Acres said after that win against the reigning premiers.
“I dropped one that I was pretty disappointed with, so I got to work on it. I really wanted to commit to those marks when I got my chance.”
It’s been a crazy ride for the 27-year-old, who is also well-known inside Melbourne’s camp.
Demons football boss Alan Richardson coached Acres at St Kilda and he was drafted to the Saints with onballer Luke Dunstan, who is now on Melbourne’s list.
Acres was traded cheaply to Carlton and Fremantle.
The Saints, too, thought they had a bargain when they selected him at No.19 in 2013.
“We were very surprised he got through. We anticipated one of the West Australian clubs would select Blake,” Saints footy boss Chris Pelchen said at the time.
“He had an injured shoulder … but we think he’s the prototype of the modern-day AFL footballer.
“Blake is 190cm, he’s got both speed and endurance, and so for us to have a player who can come in and play a number of positions – in a similar mould to Brendon Goddard – complemented our selections nicely.”
The Eagles were always taking Dom Sheed at No.11 that year while Carlton took another West Australian, Patrick Cripps, at pick 13.
Fremantle opted for Victorian Michael Apeness at 17, leaving Acres for the Saints at 19.
It was the famous ‘Buddy’ pick, the pick 19 compensation awarded to Hawthorn for free agent Lance Franklin’s defection to Sydney.
The Hawks then traded Shane Savage, picks 18 (Dunstan) and 19 (Acres) to the Saints for Ben McEvoy and picks 24 (Billy Hartung) and 59 (Jon Ceglar).
Acres arrived at Seaford as a lanky kid with pimples on his chin and an infatuation for Red Rock Deli honey soy chips.
And it was a slow burn.
In his first two years Dunstan and Jack Billings – the two boys he was drafted with – combined for 60 AFL games.
Acres played just 10, and his first was a 145-point loss to the Hawks that came with a dose of torture from Cyril Rioli.
Nothing came easy for Acres. He seemed to start every game on the bench and then spend five minutes forward, five minutes on the wing and then five minutes at half-back.
Not to mention six-minute quarterly bursts of 110kg opponents crashing into him as the Saints’ second ruckman.
His game time was low and he was never settled into the same spot.
Off the field, the son of a police officer was also the resident prankster.
One time he hid a fish under teammate Ben Paton’s car seat and filled his glovebox with seafood marinara.
The sight of Paton leaving training with his head out the window was prolonged because while the fish was found, it was weeks until he checked the glovebox.
But Acres was also on the receiving end. One time shortly after his housekey went missing his bedroom started to smell.
When cleaning and lighting candles didn’t solve the stench it was sourced to similarly fishy products that had been shoved into a pair of sneakers at the back of his wardrobe.
The kicker was can of mussels emptied into Acres’ shower gel at the same time, and the prime suspect was Dunstan.
Acres was close to tears when Fremantle came calling the day before the trade deadline in 2019.
He never wanted to be traded and was contracted for one more season.
He had always wanted to be a one-club player and was searching for success with the Saints.
But Dockers coach Justin Longmuir told Acres he wanted to lock him on to a wing and his agreement brokered the Bradley Hill trade.
It turned into a win for Acres because he finally had his own position. The sausage dog-lover lapped up pre-season last year as he built a bigger tank.
Acres learned running patterns and defensive systems that the Blues identified from afar last year.
And when the Dockers lowballed Acres to clear cash for Luke Jackson, he was effectively out the door.
“We weren't prepared to go to the length or term of contract offer that Carlton offered,“ Fremantle list boss David Walls said last year.
“We feel we are well positioned to cover his departure on the wing.
“Nathan O‘Driscoll played really well this year and guys like Liam Henry, Michael Frederick, Matthew Johnson and Karl Worner have the capability to step into that role.
“We also have a number of half-backs who we might look at moving up the ground in Jordan Clark, Hayden Young or Heath Chapman.”
On Friday night Acres clocked 16km, a game-high 25 sprints and a game-high eight repeat sprints.
His secret? Skipping most of the on-field warm-up to save his legs.
He has proven a mighty upgrade and it was appropriate that locker buddies and wing buddies Hollands (No.14), Docherty (No.15) and Acres (No.13) shared the Sherrin in that famous play.
“It’s pretty funny being a journeyman, to be honest. I keep ticking off all the clubs,” Acres told the Herald Sun earlier this year.
But the Saints – who are now searching for speed – and Dockers must be blue they let Blake go.
And wherever Acres’ journey goes he will always have those two special September nights at the ’G.
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