Crossword Genius

Attend without king right opposite second hoards (9)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

squirrels

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'hoards' is the definition.
Although both the answer and definition are plural nouns, I don't see how one could define the other.

'attend without king right opposite second' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'king' could be 'r' (abbreviation for rex, king in Latin) and 'r' is found within the answer.
'right' could be 'r' (common abbreviation) and 'r' is found within the answer.
'second' could be 's' (common abbreviation) and 's' is found within the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for squirrels that I've seen before include "Arboreal rodents with bushy tails" , "Hoards away" , "Small tree-climbing animals with bushy tails" , "Nut-eating mammals" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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