Traded Blake Acres

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Loved his corrected quote:

"I'm just gonna work my ... as hard as I can."

Definitely not afraid to work his arse off and this is not a kid that will be wanting to run home,
 
Armitage2Riewoldt said:
Aha, I feel this kids gonna be a crowd favourite.

Two interviews and I love him.

"Got picked - boys came round, got a bit hectic"
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He reminds me a bit of Roberton with his laid back and candid commentary. The type that never gets flustered on the field.
 
Saw this posted on the WA draft prospects thread on the D&T board from back in March:

Kawalsky said:
South Freo V West Perth preseason game was very much a one sided game. South had players like Ben Sokol, Pickett, Garlett and Miller-Lewis that ran all over West Perth. The only shining light for the Falcons was Blake Acres who was unstoppable out of the back line and in the mid field. He took a screamer of a mark in the goal square and when in defence seemed to run the ball out without any real opposition to him. Acres kicked 2 out of the 3 goals West Perth got, one was from 55m out on the boundary.
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I am in like. :thumbsu:
 
http://www.footytragic.com/blog/uncategorized/kps-phantom-draft/

#6 – BLAKE ACRES
Height: 190cm, Weight: 87kg, DOB: 7/10/1995
Recruited from: West Perth
I’ll go on record and say that Acres could be the pick of the lot (apart from Boyd) when you look back in ten years time.
...
Acres has played all of his U/18 footy at Colts level for West Perth. He played 20 games in 2012, but only hit his straps in the last six weeks where he averaged 22 disposals. He showed it was a sign of things to come, and his form in the Colts this year was nothing short of outstanding. He averaged 27 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles and a goal a game from his nine matches. He missed about five weeks when he did his shoulder but then came back and played two more games before the Champs started and got 31 disposals and 2 goals in his first game back and 28 disposals and 3 goals in his second game back. It looked like he’d be able to get through the Champs but in the first few minutes of his first game his shoulder came out again (he kicked a goal from the boundary in the first 20 seconds). He played on and still got 15 disposals but in game two he just couldn’t go on and he had surgery straight after that. I have no doubt we’d be talking about a potential top five pick if Acres was injury free because he was in rare form. Regardless, I had seen enough there for him to be this high for me and probably a bit unlucky to be a little higher.

Athletically Acres excels, but at the Combine his results were way out compared to the results that were given to clubs when all the WA players did their Combine at the start of the WAFL season. This was to be expected given his shoulder surgery but he still rocked up and tested. His results at the WA Combine were quite remarkable. He ran a 2.94 second 20 metre sprint (would’ve been top 10% at the Draft Combine), top 8% in agility, top 13% in the standing vertical, top 2% in running vertical and he ran a 15.2 beep test.

Acres is a very good user of the football. His kicking ranks right up there and he makes good decisions as well. He has been used off the backline because of this and he’s capable of cutting teams open with his run and precision. His overhead marking is also feature and I hope it won’t be hampered by the shoulder injury. Acres flies for his marks and one-on-one he’s rarely beaten but in a pack he’s a delight to watch when he goes for them. His hands are vice-like.

Long-term I see Acres playing in the midfield. With his aerobic capacity and ball-winning ability, I can’t see him being anywhere else. His ability to go forward will make him an incredibly hard match-up. He loves the contest and we didn’t get to see that during the Champs because he was conscious about his shoulder. Acres is an incredible talent who will probably go in the late first round on draft night, but I really believe whoever gets him will have gotten themselves an absolute steal. I can see him being the guy in a few years that we all look back on and think ‘how did he slip all the way there’.
 

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BUMP!

Has anyone heard how Acres is going so far?

While Dunstan and Billings have been the public face of our recent draftees Acres has totally flown under the radar. I haven't heard anything from the coaches about him and I think he has only done one interview with the club.
 
Did some very nice things the other day. I hear he's been brought along the slowest of the 3 due to coming back from the shoulder op, but I don't think we'll have to wait long to see him during the season, all things being equal.

It is getting a bit out of hand how much Billings and Dunstan are being pumped up though I reckon. I'm a bit surprised they weren't named in the leadership group!
 
I think re Dunstan and Billings:

Dunstan is a man child and has done well in that extractor role which I think we've struggled with at times over the past couple of seasons. Dunstan and Ross will be 2 great extractors who seem to have that extra time to get the ball out to your Saunders, Steven, etc. And yes Tommy C is an extractor as well but he is different as he can also easily play the outside role as well :)

And Billings has that elite class which we as supporters have been waiting for the last 5-7 years, (of the new draftees each year I mean). Due to our great performances in the last 10 years (apart from 2013) we haven't had a top 5 pick since 2003? I think. This is what happens when you do :)
 
Periphery said:
BUMP!

Has anyone heard how Acres is going so far?

While Dunstan and Billings have been the public face of our recent draftees Acres has totally flown under the radar. I haven't heard anything from the coaches about him and I think he has only done one interview with the club.
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I can hazard a guess that he might have required the most media training? :p
 
aussierulesrules said:
Did some very nice things the other day. I hear he's been brought along the slowest of the 3 due to coming back from the shoulder op, but I don't think we'll have to wait long to see him during the season, all things being equal.

It is getting a bit out of hand how much Billings and Dunstan are being pumped up though I reckon. I'm a bit surprised they weren't named in the leadership group!
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Lol they've got a fair way to go before they surpass the hype lee and White have received. Go back and read the comments on lee when he was traded for then read the comments after his first intraclub. Chalk and cheese
 
Smoke_Me_AKipper said:
I think re Dunstan and Billings:

Dunstan is a man child and has done well in that extractor role which I think we've struggled with at times over the past couple of seasons. Dunstan and Ross will be 2 great extractors who seem to have that extra time to get the ball out to your Saunders, Steven, etc. And yes Tommy C is an extractor as well but he is different as he can also easily play the outside role as well :)

And Billings has that elite class which we as supporters have been waiting for the last 5-7 years, (of the new draftees each year I mean). Due to our great performances in the last 10 years (apart from 2013) we haven't had a top 5 pick since 2003? I think. This is what happens when you do :)
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Yeah I get that and I'm as excited as anyone else to see how they go, but I do think the club are overdoing it a bit with how much they are talking them up in the media, hence my previous comment. It seems like every second article on us in the papers at the moment has someone like Richo or Kingsley talking about those two specifically and I would prefer the club let their performances do the talking, if they are that good already and that they don't get pushed into the spotlight by the club unnecessarily, while they're just finding their feet and that they really do earn their spots in the team, as I've said a few times since we drafted them.

I get the feeling that if Dunstan is going say as well as Seb Ross that Luke may get the nod simply because he is the "shiny new toy" that we want to show off, or that if Billings is going as well as say a Markworth, Siposs or TDL that he may get the nod for the same reason and I'd personally much prefer it if we gave the ones who have done the hard yards at the club for the longest the nod, if their ages aren't too far apart and they are likely to give a similar output. A: because it's good reward for the older ones and B: because it teaches the younger ones that they really do have to earn their spots and that they have to perform, not just be good for publicity.

I'm not sure how good it would be for the morale of those that have been at the club for a year or more now if the young ones who have only been here 5 minutes get picked ahead of them, if their output in the senior team is going to be similar, or even less. I just don't see the need to push them in ahead of them under those circumstances, except for a perceived PR advantage.

As I've said a few times now, I think it's generally much more important that we get games this year into the likes of Saunders, Webster, Ross, Wright, Markworth, Murdoch, etc. than Billings, Dunstan, Acres and Templeton, unless the new ones are genuinely better and/or physically more prepared than them already.

If they are already better and more physically prepared than them then by all means lets pick them ASAP, but if not there is plenty of time for them and I think it would also be good to get a better idea of which of that previous group I listed are likely to make it gong forward, as they probably have more long term question marks over them than the ones we just drafted in the first round. I also think the more senior games we get into them the better chance they have of making it, whereas I think Jack, Luke and Blake in particular are likely to make it regardless of whether they play a bunch of games this year or not. Just my thoughts though.
 
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aussierulesrules said:
Yeah I get that and I'm as excited as anyone else to see how they go, but I do think the club are overdoing it a bit with how much they are talking them up in the media, hence my previous comment. It seems like every second article on us in the papers at the moment has someone like Richo or Kingsley talking about those two specifically and I would prefer the club let their performances do the talking, if they are that good already and that they don't get pushed into the spotlight by the club unnecessarily, while they're just finding their feet and that they really do earn their spots in the team, as I've said a few times since we drafted them.

I get the feeling that if Dunstan is going say as well as Seb Ross that Luke may get the nod simply because he is the "shiny new toy" that we want to show off, or that if Billings is going as well as say a Markworth, Siposs or TDL that he may get the nod for the same reason and I'd personally much prefer it if we gave the ones who have done the hard yards at the club for the longest the nod, if their ages aren't too far apart and they are likely to give a similar output. A: because it's good reward for the older ones and B: because it teaches the younger ones that they really do have to earn their spots.

I'm not sure how good it would be for the morale of those that have been at the club for a year or more now if the young ones who have only been here 5 minutes get picked ahead of them, if their output in the senior team is going to be similar, or even less. I just don't see the need to push them in ahead of them under those circumstances, except for a perceived PR advantage.

As I've said a few times now, I think it's generally much more important that we get games this year into the likes of Saunders, Webster, Ross, Wright, Markworth, Murdoch, etc. than Billings, Dunstan, Acres and Templeton, unless the new ones are genuinely better and/or physically more prepared than them already. If they are already better and more physically prepared than them then by all means lets pick them ASAP, but if not there is plenty of time for them and I think it would also be good to get a better idea of which of that previous group I listed are likely to make it gong forward, as they probably have more long term question marks over them than the ones we just drafted in the first round. I also think the more games we get into them the better chance they have of making it, whereas I think Jack, Luke and Blake in particular are likely to make it regardless of whether they play a bunch of games this year or not. Just my thoughts though.
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One thing to be talking about it in the media like they are and another thing internally at the club. I think the right situations will be made come round 1 onwards. Especially due to the issues around the last coach picking the team by himself! :eek:

Not a bad situation to be in as far as choice.....I'd hate to be a selector this season....trying to bring all these kids along for the journey and getting game time into them to help them take the next steps in their respective careers! The challenges of running a football club I suppose...
 
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