BLAKE Acres is in some ways the forgotten draftee.Selected with pick No.19 last November, the rangy Western Australian was taken just one spot below Luke Dunstan, who he lives with now, and 16 selections after Jack Billings.Of the three, Acres is the only one yet to debut.But it won’t be long before Saints fans get to know the precociously talented Acres, whose pre-season was plagued by injury and a self-admitted naivety about the rigours of AFL football.“When I got here it was all pretty new to me - the system and everything – and I think I started pretty slowly,” Acres told SAINTS.com.au this week.“It probably took me about a month to get used to it all and understand how an AFL club works.”Eventually, the honeymoon period of getting drafted passed and reality sunk in. Before he knew it, Acres was on a plane to Boulder, Colorado for a pre-season training camp.

RELATED: Acres Boulder diary

Luke Dunstan and Blake Acres met a few of our younger fans down Glen Huntly road this afternoon. #SaintsOTS pic.twitter.com/oFX3CXSp2u — St Kilda FC (@stkildafc) February 27, 2014



“It turned out I had a hotspot on my foot. Even though it was frustrating, it allowed me to spend four weeks in the gym getting stronger.”

“It turned out I had a hotspot on my foot. Even though it was frustrating, it allowed me to spend four weeks in the gym getting stronger.” RELATED: Blake Acres player profile In this time he improved his max bench press by seven kilograms, illustrating just how hard the boy from West Perth is prepared to work off the field in order to improve on it.



“I went from lifting 90 kilos to 97 in the gym, so I’m not in the 100-club yet but I will be there soon,” he said. In this time he improved his max bench press by seven kilograms, illustrating just how hard the boy from West Perth is prepared to work off the field in order to improve on it.“I went from lifting 90 kilos to 97 in the gym, so I’m not in the 100-club yet but I will be there soon,” he said.



After a promising performance in the VFL reserves a fortnight ago in his return from injury, Acres was a solid contributor for Sandringham’s senior team in its draw against Box Hill on Sunday afternoon, finishing with 18 disposals.



“In the VFL reserves, I asked Macca (Coach Simon McPhee) to play in the midfield so it was good to get in and around the ball – even though I was limited to just 70 minutes. But on the weekend I played in defence and really enjoyed it.”



“My first kick went out on the full, but it was really good fun to run out there with all the Saints boys. Tom Simpkin helped me a lot down back and Tom Lee and Sam Dunell have been great.”







St Kilda development coach and Sandringham assistant Paul Hudson was full of praise for Acres in this week’s



“What stood out was his decision-making ability,” Hudson told SAINTS.com.au. “He was composed and measured and slotted in well, and gee, he reads the game well.”

After a promising performance in the VFL reserves a fortnight ago in his return from injury, Acres was a solid contributor for Sandringham’s senior team in its draw against Box Hill on Sunday afternoon, finishing with 18 disposals.“In the VFL reserves, I asked Macca (Coach Simon McPhee) to play in the midfield so it was good to get in and around the ball – even though I was limited to just 70 minutes. But on the weekend I played in defence and really enjoyed it.”“My first kick went out on the full, but it was really good fun to run out there with all the Saints boys. Tom Simpkin helped me a lot down back and Tom Lee and Sam Dunell have been great.”St Kilda development coach and Sandringham assistant Paul Hudson was full of praise for Acres in this week’s VFL player breakdown “What stood out was his decision-making ability,” Hudson told SAINTS.com.au. “He was composed and measured and slotted in well, and gee, he reads the game well.” VIDEO: Richo welcomes Acres What's obvious is Acres’ laid back confidence. It’s not arrogance - far from it - but for a player who left school six months ago, he has refreshingly clear goals and knows exactly what he needs to do to achieve them.



“If I work hard enough – which I am going to do – I’m confident I’ll keep improving. I need to get my body right. I only played 10 minutes in the fourth quarter [on Sunday] because I was cramping, so that was pretty disappointing,” he said.



“Richo’s main message is to be clean with the footy, know the structures and play my role. I also need to improve my preparation before the game and hopefully get a full match in.



“If I can do these things I’m sure I will progress.”



And while progression will come naturally, Acres isn’t afraid to admit he harbours ambitions to join his good mate Dunstan in the senior team at some stage this year.



Whether this is as rebounding half-back or elusive wingman doesn’t faze him.



“I’ve played as a defender in the VFL, I’ve also played in the midfield – so wherever there is a spot, I’ll take it.”



“My aim is to play senior footy this year. I am sure the coaches will know when that time is if there is a spot there… Dad always tells me to get a game!” What's obvious is Acres’ laid back confidence. It’s not arrogance - far from it - but for a player who left school six months ago, he has refreshingly clear goals and knows exactly what he needs to do to achieve them.“If I work hard enough – which I am going to do – I’m confident I’ll keep improving. I need to get my body right. I only played 10 minutes in the fourth quarter [on Sunday] because I was cramping, so that was pretty disappointing,” he said.“Richo’s main message is to be clean with the footy, know the structures and play my role. I also need to improve my preparation before the game and hopefully get a full match in.“If I can do these things I’m sure I will progress.”And while progression will come naturally, Acres isn’t afraid to admit he harbours ambitions to join his good mate Dunstan in the senior team at some stage this year.Whether this is as rebounding half-back or elusive wingman doesn’t faze him.“I’ve played as a defender in the VFL, I’ve also played in the midfield – so wherever there is a spot, I’ll take it.”“My aim is to play senior footy this year. I am sure the coaches will know when that time is if there is a spot there… Dad always tells me to get a game!”

All of a sudden the 18-year-old was expected to train like an elite footballer and behave like an adult. It was an adjustment that he found difficult, until one pivotal session in the US.“It wasn’t until one run in Colorado that we did, when I began to get what is required. It was so tough and so mentally demanding more than anything – it really tested me and pushed me to the limit,” he recalled.“Since then I’ve turned it around a bit. Before then I wasn’t organised at all. I’ve sort of got used to it now – I can’t sleep in anymore and I get what is required to succeed.”Living with Dunstan has helped Acres’ transition to a professional lifestyle, and watching the round one Rising Star nominee make such a promising start to his career has only fuelled his ambition to join the left-footer in the Saints line-up.“I was at Etihad for the first two games and we got two really good wins,” he said.“I’m living with Luke and he always tells me these stories about who does what pre-game, after the game and during the game. So I really want to feel that as well and get around it. It makes me really hungry to play.”Acres is listed at 190 centimetres and has put on significant muscle-mass since arriving at St Kilda. Although he was frustrated to be injured for a month during the pre-season, he managed to create a positive out of the situation.“I played one game against Richmond’s VFL side which was a scratchy. I’d had a bit of foot soreness now and then throughout the summer and after one session it was really sore so the doctor told me to get a scan.