Adelaide have announced a change-up to their leadership group, revealing they have added Ben Keays and Reilly O'Brien to the five-man group.

The move recognises the pair's great form over the past couple of seasons, as well as their influence over the group.

They join current leadership group members Tom Doedee, Rory Sloane and Brode Smith, with Sloane set to continue as captain.

As with most clubs, the playing group had a heavy influence over who was selected, however at the Crows, the process was slightly different.

The playing group decided what trademarks they wanted their leaders to show and which players embodied those trademarks best.

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The result was just reward for Keays and O'Brien, with both players having earned the respect of their teammates and the wider competition.

After notoriously tweeting about West Coast superstar Nic Naitanui, O'Brien has proven himself one of the competition's top ruckman. Such has been his emergence that became Club Champion in 2020.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JULY 24: Elliott Himmelberg of the Crows (R) celebrates a goal with Ben Keays of the Crows during the round 20 AFL match between Adelaide Crows and Hawthorn Hawks at Marvel Stadium on July 24, 2021 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

As for Keays, the move caps a remarkable career turnaround. Being delisted after 30 games with Brisbane, he was rookie drafted by the Crows at the end of 2019.

Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, capping off a fantastic 2021 season by finishing second in the club's Best & Fairest award. Coach Matthew Nicks was bullish about the young leaders at the developing Crows.

"We are blessed at this footy club to have a number of leaders within our playing group and the addition of both Reilly and Ben to the leadership group reflects the growth of our young team and the exciting direction we are heading," Nicks said.

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โ€œImportantly for us, they prioritise others but they also lead by example on game day, by the elite standards they set at training and by a commitment to make others around them better.

โ€œBoth bring their own unique style to complement the leaders we already have and who are continuing in their roles โ€“ Brodie, Tom and our captain Rory who have all done a fantastic job with our young group in recent seasons.โ€

Following a 2021 season that showed plenty of promise, the Crows are optimistic heading in 2022.