Carlton midfielder Blake Acres is excited, not daunted, by his first trip back to the Optus Stadium cauldron since leaving Fremantle.
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The 27-year-old spent three seasons with the Dockers before moving to Ikon Park during last year's trade period.
Perth crowds can be famously hostile to former players returning to face Fremantle or West Coast in opposition colours.
Ex-Dockers tall Rory Lobb was relentlessly booed and heckled by the Freo faithful when he played for the Western Bulldogs at Optus Stadium in round six.
However, Acres' exit was far less acrimonious than what Lobb went through and the Blues' running machine said he was looking forward to facing the Dockers.
"I caught up with those boys when they were in town (Melbourne) over the weekend (to play the Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium)," Acres told AAP.
"I caught up with a lot of them so it will be fun.
"I speak to them all the time still but keen to get the choccies over them though.
"They'll (Dockers fans) be stoked to have me back.
"I was only there a short period of time so there probably won't be much to it.
"I'm looking forward to get back in front of the old home family and being at Optus Stadium again."
Carlton head west after two confidence-boosting victories over Gold Coast and Hawthorn to give them an outside chance of sneaking into finals.
Despite a miserable run of eight defeats in nine games before smashing the Suns, the Blues are only a game-and-a-half outside of the eight.
Carlton's attacking form that almost earned them a 2022 finals spot has returned, and they have combined it with a strong defensive plan.
During their horror stretch, the Blues struggled to score and were bereft of confidence when moving the ball.
"There's been a really big focus on our team 'd' (defence) and being able to press the ball carrier," Acres said.
"On top of that, we're finishing our scores and our opportunities now so it makes it easy to defend when you're not defending for 20 minutes at a time; you're spending two to three minutes, goal, and get back to the centre bounce and go again."
Fremantle will be as desperate as Carlton to keep their finals hopes alive following a disappointing defeat against the Bulldogs last Saturday.
Despite beating last year's grand finalists Geelong and Sydney, as well as Melbourne at the MCG, the Dockers are 7-8 and have been unable to recapture the consistency they displayed last season.
Australian Associated Press
