Emerging St Kilda midfielder Blake Acres believes the Saints are on the right path towards building something special, with the collection of high-quality youth at Linen House Centre forming the nucleus for the clubs climb back up the ladder.
On the back of the strongest performance of his 13-game career, which reaped the Round 6 Rising Star nomination following his effort against Melbourne on Saturday, Acres said it is an exciting time to be part of St Kilda.
“That was half the reason I signed on in 2014 with the club, just because you see that group coming together and it’s exciting,” Acres said at a press conference on Tuesday morning.
“We’ve only won one flag, just to be part of something special and hopefully win the club the next flag will be a really great feeling.
“It was pretty exciting at the time (when he was notified of his nomination). The club’s had two or three in the last couple of years now with Lukey Dunstan, Jack Billings and Jack Lonie winning the nomination last year and two years ago. So I suppose it’s exciting for the club.”
The West Australian was one of Alan Richardson’s key contributors in the 39-point win over the Demons, collecting a career-high 28 possessions, 12 score involvements, five tackles and two goals as he bounced back from being left out of the side that lost to Greater Western Sydney a week earlier.
“Yeah I don’t think I’ve had too many games like that. He [Richardson] was happy with my contest work and that I was able to bounce back from a pretty poor performance against Hawthorn,” Acres said.
Acres concedes he has deficiencies in his game that he is paying close attention as he tries to become a better player this season and become a regular fixture in St Kilda’s senior 22. But after two interrupted years, a sufficient pre-season has helped provide a sturdy foundation to launch from in 2016.
“My first two years I was pretty ravaged by them [injuries], with my quad and a broken hand a couple of times. And I did my shoulder in my draft year, so just being able to do a full pre-season has really helped,” Acres said.
“I’ve been working on everything. My kicking’s pretty average, my hands aren’t as great as I’d like them to be, but I think the guys like Lukey Dunstan, Seb Ross, Sam Gilbert, Mav Weller, they’ve been really grabbing me and getting me to do extra touch work with them. So I think that’s been good.”
Eyeing a long term role at the coal face of the Saints’ engine room, Acres is content playing his role across half-forward at the minute, providing seasoned stars Jack Steven and David Armitage with a chop out when necessary.
“I think I see myself playing as an inside mid later down the track. Right now I’m playing at half-forward, giving Jack Steven and David Armitage a rest when they need a spell,” he said.
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