Ben Keays is relishing his second season at Adelaide and says hard work is behind his strong form in the midfield.

Keays was selected by the Crows at the 2019 AFL Rookie Draft after being delisted by Brisbane and has not looked back since, playing 16 games last year and all 12 so far this season.

Speaking on The Optus Crows Show, the 24-year-old said he could not be happier at Adelaide and loved how determined everyone was to improve.

“It was a bit different for me, obviously I didn't know anyone and it was a bit weird having come from Brisbane and having lived there my whole life,” Keays said.

“I wanted to make some friendships and find enjoyment in my footy, which I’ve done so far.

“I’ve put a lot of work in. I think everyone has improved as well which has helped me.

“There’s a lot of talented guys, but more importantly there’s actually a lot of guys that want to work hard and put time into their game. 

“That makes it easy to work with guys like that.”

Keays said he had made it a priority this season to help the younger brigade coming through at the Crows and had leant on others to improve his leadership qualities.

“I guess a new role for me (is) to help guide some of the guys and use a bit of leadership which is a bit new to me (and) I’ve enjoyed that so far,” Keays said.

“We’ve got some good leaders around that I can work off and work pretty closely with some in the midfield. Guys like Sloaney (Rory Sloane) and Lairdy (Rory Laird), they’re fantastic.

“The expectations in different areas have gone a bit more on myself but that just keeps driving me to get better and improve my all-round game.”

Also on The Optus Crows Show this week, Jarryd Wallace talks about the bye round, while Will Hamill joins Brodie Smith to talk about life away from football, including how he and his housemates spend plenty of time playing video games.

The Optus Crows Show airs on Channel 7 Adelaide at 5.00pm this Saturday.

Interstate fans can catch the full episode on afc.com.au shortly after.