ADELAIDE midfielder Jake Soligo is only 19 games into his AFL career, but the tough and skilful youngster is quickly earning a reputation at the Crows as one of their smartest footballers.
Soligo has flown under the radar to an extent since joining the Crows with pick No.36 in the 2021 NAB AFL Draft, arriving alongside young star Josh Rachele and talented trade target Jordan Dawson.
But his importance to the team was underlined by Matthew Nicks after the Showdown win last week, with the coach praising an "outstanding" performance that was ultimately overshadowed by others.
Soligo, whose score involvements have lifted from 3.3 a game in his debut season to 5.7 this year, used the ball at 85 per cent efficiency against Port and was smart with everything he did.
His coaches continue to be impressed by the 20-year-old's game knowledge, with Soligo putting it down to his experience growing up as a student at the Rowville Sports Academy, as part of the school's football program.
"I watched a lot of footy growing up, and then I went to Rowville Sports Academy, and that really helped with my footy smarts," Soligo told AFL.com.au.
"Those coaches really helped me. It's pretty much school, but every day you have two classes of footy and four classes of school.
"I had two coaches there, [Essendon premiership player] Darren Bewick and Mark Fisher, who have the experience, and I'd sit down with them and watch vision, but also play a lot of games. It was a really great school."
Soligo moved from Rowville in south-east Melbourne to Dromana on the Mornington Peninsula in his final year before the 2021 NAB AFL Draft, where he was considered a top-30 prospect.
When he was still available at the Crows' pick No.36 the club couldn't move quickly enough, and he has proven to be one of the best-performed players from his Draft early on.
Having started on a wing, Soligo said he was now focused on contributing to the Crows' inside midfield rotations after adding size and strength in the off-season.
"I came in around 76-77kg and I'm 83kg now after putting on 3-4kg over the last off-season, so I built a bit of strength," he said.
"I've gone from a wing to playing inside now, but I go a bit everywhere to be honest. Mid, wing, forward, and wherever the coaches really need me.
"I'm trying to work on my inside game a bit more and put on a bit of size so I can go with guys like (Ollie) Wines and (Patrick) Cripps and all the great midfielders in the game.
"If I can build on that, hopefully I can get a bit more midfield time."
The Crows face an important clash against Fremantle at Adelaide Oval on Saturday and can square their season at 2-2 with a win before opening Gather Round in a Thursday night blockbuster in round five.
Soligo said the club had been boosted by its impressive Showdown win against Port Adelaide in round three and was now looking to build, with the impact of the club's young players a key.
"All the young guys stood up, Josh (Rachele) and Izak (Rankine), and that's what we need. We need an even contribution from all of the boys and that's what we got," Soligo said.
"It's a great mood around the club and it's always good to get a Showdown win and beat Port, but it's also good to get that first win on the board and we’re looking to improve from here."
