Blake Acres felt he owed Carlton.
His debut for the Blues against Richmond last week didn’t quite go to plan, dropping an open mark in the dying stages of the eventual draw.
The former Saint and Docker was also down on his usual output in his first outing in the navy blue with 16 disposals.
But a week is a long time in football and Acres was one of his side’s best in the impressive eight-point victory over reigning premier Geelong on Thursday night.
He took some big intercept marks in the final quarter as the Cats roared back to life, suggesting he has put last week’s aberration behind him.
“I thought I owed the Baggers family one from last week,” he said on SEN’s AFL Nation.
“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.
“I didn’t even know Tommy Hawkins was there, but I had full trust in ‘Weiters’ (Jacob Weitering) to keep him down and just went for it.”
Playing primarily on a wing, Acres fired for Carlton with 26 touches and 11 marks, chopping out in defence and also driving the ball into attack.
But how long did it take to shake the lament from last week after he missed that opportunity at the end of the Richmond match?
“For me personally a few days,” Acres replied.
“It was all about just learning and making sure we improve from that game.
“It took me a few days to be honest, but ‘Crippa’ (Patrick Cripps) and the boys really got me going again and I’m stoked with the win this week.”
One of Carlton’s very best on the night was Adam Saad who was masterful off half-back, picking up a career-high 29 disposals.
Acres spoke of the desire of Saad’s teammates to get the ball in his hands given his ability to do damage from defence.
Acres asked: “Did he get his 30?
“He’s been telling me all week he hasn’t had 30 before. We spoke about making sure we got him the footy because he’s such a good kick, just trying to get him going.
“I think the boys fed him a bit and he was able to hit some forwards.”
The Blues found themselves 23 points ahead at three-quarter time and the message from coach Michael Voss was simply to remain cool, calm and collected after coughing up to the Tigers late last week.
“He just said to say composed, we probably lacked that the week before,” Acres said.
“We worked on a few things that we didn’t get right against Richmond. I felt like we were able to execute most of that.
“There’s still a few things we’ve got to get right, but a big jump from last week.”
Acres and the Blues will now take their 1-1-0 record to Giants Stadium to take on GWS next Saturday.”