The dynamic forward kicked three goals in Saturday’s win over Geelong at home, but his away form prior to that had been below his expectations.
Ballantyne said he couldn’t consider himself to be back to his best until his form away from home improved.
“There’s just a few little things that haven’t gone my way, so I don’t think I’m at my best yet,” he said.
“But I think a few games at Subiaco I played well, it’s more so over East that I’ve got to lift a bit more.
“On the weekend (against Geelong) I thought I was back to pressuring and chasing and not letting the opposition have any time and space, which is what we want to do in our forward line.”
Ballantyne said the best remedy to pick up his game outside of WA was routine.
“Trying to stick to the same basic principles that you do at home,” he said.
“The same sleeping patterns, the same eating patterns.
“It’s more so about trying to get your body back to feeling good before the next game.
“A few six day breaks made it hard to try and get up for the next game, but that’s something I have to work on.”
Ballantyne said he’d missed the presence of fellow small forward Michael Walters, who is out long-term with an ankle injury.
A step forward for Walters
“Absolutely, he’s my little mate,” he said.
“He’s a massive element to our forward line with his pressure and his nous around goals.
“Give him half a second and he’ll kick a goal nine times out of 10.”
Ballantyne added he and Walters felt they had really started to click in 2013 and were looking forward to improving further this season.
“We knew what each other were going to do and we had some good chemistry,” he said.
“The sooner he gets back, the better the whole team is going to be.
“He’s tracking pretty well. He’s off crutches pretty much, he’s in a moon boot and he’s starting to hobble around a bit better.
“I’m hoping he’s going to be back for the end of the season.”
