North Melbourne captain Jack Ziebell has opened up about a challenging start to 2020.

While a sprained medial ligament suffered against St Kilda was a blow, it pales in comparison to the challenges he's faced away from the field.

In January, Ziebell’s father Gary, a member of the Country Fire Association, helped fight fires in Albury-Wodonga.

“My old man lives probably 10km from Tallangatta and my old man is in the CFA, so he spent quite a bit of time out having a crack at the fires and helping out,” the North number seven said. 

“We know a fair few people up from Corryong and Cudgewa and my old man used to play footy up at Border-Walwa, and they were obviously heavily affected, and back the other way as well with Bright and Myrtleford and Dinner Plain up along the high country.

“There were a couple of times when Dad was out and I was texting him. He had his phone with him in the truck but his wife, my step-mum Jocelyn, she had a ­couple of horrible nights because if he goes out of range, you just don’t know.

“He is a country boy, so he doesn’t say too much about it all, but he did say it was pretty intense and pretty hairy and you definitely have to respect the fires coming through. When they go out to try and save property, they are not going to put themselves in harm’s way, because when the firewall is 20-foot tall, you are probably not going to be able to do too much with just a hose in your hand.

“He had a few hairy moments, but he also did a lot of good work and met some good people who were out there working.”

Barely a few weeks later, Ziebell was the centre of a hoax around the COVID-19 virus.

A tweet was being circulated claiming he’d been infected by coronavirus.

“I was trying to figure out what had happened and I checked my phone and saw that I had a few missed calls from the footy club’s media manager, Heath O’Loughlin,” Ziebell told The Herald Sun at the time.

“They worked out that a ­reporter’s account had been hacked, or something like that, and that had been put out there.

“It was probably a bit more nerve-racking for my family, ­because I knew I didn’t have it, but it was a bit interesting.”

The Round 1 injury adds yet another challenge to overcome, but the postponement of the season gives Ziebell hope. In fact, the six-eight week timeline for his return could line up perfectly with the current June resumption target.