Jack Ziebell looks set to captain North Melbourne for a fourth season after coach Rhyce Shaw hailed his leadership.

Shaw says he was full of admiration watching Ziebell guide the Roos through a tough year, which involved an emotional coaching handover and slow start to the season.

“He (Ziebell) is one of the great leaders I have seen, not only as a spiritual leader and out on the ground,” he told The Herald Sun.

“He was fantastic. The burden he took this year, I don’t think a lot of people understand how much of a toll that might have taken on him and he kept standing up every week and did what he was told. And he did it to the best of his ability.”

Ziebell, 28, had arguably the best season of his career and finished equal fifth in the Syd Barker.