Even Jordan Dawson thought Riley Thilthorpe should have won the Showdown Medal.
Dawson, the Adelaide captain, was voted best afield again on Saturday night as the Crows swamped Port Adelaide in the last term to win their AFL Showdown by 31 points.
The Crows moved Dawson into the midfield and he was outstanding, after also starring in the previous Adelaide derby this time last season.
But on Saturday at Adelaide Oval, Thilthorpe and Izaac Rankine were better.
Thilthorpe kicked a career-best five goals for the Crows and Rankine, the former Gold Coast star, shone with four goals.
Asked what he said to Thilthorpe immediately after the game, Dawson said: "I probably said I thought it was his medal.
"But I just said I was proud of him.
"To step up and play a real 'big boy' presence down there, it was really pleasing to see as a captain."
After not making the senior team in round one, Thilthorpe returned last week and showed against Port why Adelaide recruited him with the second pick in the 2020 draft.
"We were confident, we'd seen a moment at training when something really clicked for Riley, in and around his contest, and you saw that," said senior coach Matthew Nicks.
"He's getting at that ball, he's got confidence in himself, backing himself in, and he's going to be quite a dangerous player if he continues to work hard like he's doing at the moment."
Nicks added that Thilthorpe did not drop his head when he was left out of the senior team, adding that he had worked hard with Adelaide's development coaches.
"The frustration didn't show, he just put his head down and went to work," Nicks added.
"He knew he was close and he knew his opportunity would come - that's the way the season works.
"We wanted to make sure ... he was ready and he showed that."
It was Adelaide's first win of the season and they were outstanding, eventually overwhelming Port after a pulsating duel over three quarters.
"I'm extremely proud of the boys. It was just a really balanced effort, right across the board.
"Obviously Jordy won the medal ... but I thought we had a really even contribution from every player.
"It's really positive for us, it's what we've been working on as a group - is to put together a full game.
"We probably struggled early in that first quarter, but we were able to right the ship and get the game back on our terms."
