BLAKE Acres hadn't met Michael Voss in the flesh until he arrived at Ikon Park for the first day of pre-season late last month. But by then, the wingman had got to know his new coach well over the phone from Perth. 

It was those long conversations that convinced the 27-year-old to return to Victoria, three years after he was essentially forced to head back to Western Australia as the sweetener in the deal that sent Bradley Hill to St Kilda.  

This time around, Acres effectively had the decision made for him due to the Dockers' low-ball offer, heading to Carlton in exchange for a future third-round pick that could prove to be one of the bargain deals of the 2022 trade period. 

Fremantle landed gun young ruckman Luke Jackson after a long pursuit of the local talent, before signing star midfielder Jaeger O'Meara on deadline day and mobile forward Josh Corbett. But it came at a cost with Rory Lobb, Griffin Logue, Darcy Tucker and Acres all departing Cockburn. 

Now Acres is back in Melbourne and entering his prime following the best season of his career to date after averaging 21.7 disposals, 5.8 marks and 443m gained from a personal best 20 appearances in 2022. 

"We only had a few phone calls. We spoke about my role and the opportunity with where Carlton is at and what they're hoping to achieve in the coming years," Acres told AFL.com.au. 

"It was a tough decision at the time but also Vossy made it really streamlined for me and simple in what role I'll play. I only really met him day one of pre-season, I had a good conversation with him then. He has been great so far."

Of the 36 players who moved clubs during the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period, the Acres trade is one that doesn't make much sense on the surface. Most players who move home, remain home, especially after producing a career-best season. But the difference in offers between Fremantle and Carlton made the decision simple.

"I think a lot of people see it as a strange one. I moved back home and then now I've come back to Victoria," Acres said. 

"To be honest, I was quite settled here before I went back to Perth. My partner is from Victoria, and I loved living in Victoria before I went back to Perth, not to say I didn't love living in Perth, I've loved both. 

"This was a good opportunity for me and for my career to come back to Victoria and play for Carlton. I couldn’t say no to it."

Acres has reunited with Carlton captain and reigning Brownlow Medallist Patrick Cripps – the pair played for Western Australia in the under-18s – former Fremantle teammate Adam Cerra, and is surrounded by a handful of Sandgropers on Royal Parade. 

The West Perth product spent a large chunk of the off-season travelling across America with Cripps, Sam Walsh and Paddy Dow, before being greeted with a wet start to the summer in Melbourne. 

"When the trade went through I went away from Australia for about a month to the States. Then I got back to Perth and chilled out and started training with some of the younger Carlton boys and some Freo boys," he said.

"We had a big group of about 15 boys training out at East Freo. Then I got over here about a week before the younger boys started pre-season and then cracked in with them."

Acres didn't play in a final in his 75 games at St Kilda and his first 43 games at Fremantle, but his two most recent appearances were in this September. 

The former first-round pick stood up against the Western Bulldogs in the elimination final win in front of 60,000 people at Optus Stadium, before collecting 27 disposals, nine marks and 569m gained in the semi-final loss to Collingwood at the MCG.

"I got a little bit of a taste of playing in front of 90,000 in the last game of the season for Freo against Collingwood," he said.

"I really enjoyed playing in that atmosphere. I reckon it can put us in good stead for finals footy, playing in front of big crowds and the hype around that."

The plan is to play many more blockbuster games and big finals in the navy blue under Voss. 

Carlton has the two reigning Coleman Medallists, one of the best spines in the AFL and a deep midfield, but they've been in need of a quality wingman. 

They have one now in Acres.