David King has praised Adelaide’s recruiting manager Hamish Ogilvie for the job he has done in unearthing hidden young talent.
Ogilvie has been at the Crows for 11 years, having initially served as an eastern states scout for the club before heading the recruiting department in 2012.
He has played a heavy hand in forming the top-of-the table side as it looks today, admiring the acquisitions of Hugh Greenwood, Jake Kelly, Charlie Cameron, Rory Laird, Mitch McGovern, Rory Sloane, Riley Knight and Rory Atkins, alongside his work in getting Sam Jacobs and Eddie Betts to the club from former club Carlton.
“He is a marvel,” said King on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“They’ve got Greenwood from basketball, Jake Kelly is a wildcard selection, Charlie Cameron from Mt Isa as a rugby player. Rory Laird is a local product.
“Pick 43 Mitch McGovern, pick 44 Rory Sloane, pick 46 Riley Knight, pick 81 Rory Atkins.
“They were banned for a couple of drafts and now they’re in contention. There is no excuse for teams that don’t necessarily have a glut of first round selections to be in the position they are on the ladder when you see that.”
Another player brought to the club by Ogilvie is former St Kilda forward Tom Lynch, who described Rory Sloane’s performance as “magnificent” and “satisfying” in their big 21 point win over fellow top four side Geelong at Adelaide Oval on Friday night.
“He is such a warrior. He just loves footy and just loves the competition and the contest,” he said on Crunch Time.
“He’s a proud man…it was pleasing to see the reward he got last night.
“He got that much attention thrown at him and he just absorbed it. It looked like he enjoyed it.
“I was so wrapped for him last night. He’s such an important player for us and it is just very pleasing.”
The forward also directed attention to the work of Knight, calling his job of restricting Cats skipper Joel Selwood to 26 largely undamaging touches outstanding.
“Being able to have a bit more consistency in his footy has been awesome for Riley,” said Lynch.
“He’s got that real mongrel in him and he’s a really good runner as well.
“It didn’t feel like he [Selwood] had the normal influence he has on a game. He’s such an important player for them and one of the best players in the game.
“Riley we thought was outstanding in taking away his influence.”
Lynch also called singled out praise for Greenwood, branding him as a player with amazing ability.
“He’s been fantastic in his short time since coming into the side,” he said.
“People think he is an inside contested player, but he has got this ability to just get at you very fast. He’s actually very, very fast. He’s a tackling machine that absorbs contests.”
Geelong defender Zach Tuohy also praised their opponents on Friday night, believing them to arguably be the best side in the competition due to their "unbelievable" defensive pressure.