AFL Hall of Famer Tim Watson has praised North skipper Jack Ziebell after his impressive performance in the six-point loss to the Swans on Sunday.

Ziebell, who has featured prominently in front of the goals this season, validated his position as one of the most dangerous forwards in the competition with a five-goal haul.

“He played the best game I have ever seen him play,” Watson said on SEN.

“Not just the fact that he kicked five goals, he was an enormous presence in that forward line.

“You know how difficult it is to play against the Sydney defence, and I thought Ziebell was just outstanding.”

The 27-year-old led from the front, not only through his career-high five goals, but also by competing hard around the ground and standing up in crucial stages.

“The things that make him such a good forward, also made it hard for him to play in the midfield, that’s just good coaching from Brad Scott,” co-host Garry Lyon added.

Ziebell’s performance took his goal tally to 24; an impressive feat given he’s played alongside Ben Brown and Jarrad Waite who are averaging 3.1 and 2.4 majors respectively.

Having spent much of his tenure as a hard-nosed midfielder, the decision to put the captain inside 50 with the likes of Brown has paid dividends.