Jack Ziebell is used to punching above his weight, in his teens he was forced to play against grown men for Wodonga giving away much size and strength, but this week, he had a fight of a different kind on his hands.

Olympic boxer Brad Pitt was introduced to the young Roo as a sparring partner and the vice-captain didn’t take a backward step.

“It was a bit of a surprise for me and the boys to see him out at training”, Ziebell said.

“You never know what to expect in the pre-season and this was certainly something a bit different.

“I’m glad he went easy on us. I don’t think I would have lasted too long if he’d been going 100 per cent.”

Pitt also went toe to toe with several other players including Luke Delaney, Ben Mabon, Aaron Black and Majak Daw, but his biggest opponent turned out to be a bit of a surprise.

Former North player and now ruck coach Alex Ishchenko weighed in to take up the challenge.

“That was probably a better match-up. The big Russian doesn’t mind a bit of boxing,” Ziebell added.

Pitt will fight on the upcoming Danny Green undercard and used the session to maintain his fitness.