Crossword Genius

Crew caught without king (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

bragged

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

'crew' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'caught without king' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'king' could be 'r' (abbreviation for rex, king in Latin) and 'r' is present in the answer.
'caught' could be 'bagged' ('bag' can be a synonym of 'catch') and 'bagged' is present in the leftover letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for bragged that I've seen before include "Crew" , "Boasted" , "Blew one's own trumpet" .)

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