ANDREW Swallow has thrived under the pressures of captaincy and could be North Melbourne skipper for the next decade, vice-captain Drew Petrie says.

Swallow assumed the Roos captaincy from Brent Harvey in the lead-up to this season.

Although North has hit a rich vein of form recently in winning five of its past six games, Swallow and the club rode their share of bumps in the first half of the season.

On the field, the Roos won just two games from rounds four to 10, with its five losses including one where they had led Port Adelaide by 32 points at the eight-minute mark of the last quarter and the 115-point flogging by Hawthorn in round 10.

And two days after the loss to the Hawks, the club's chief executive Eugene Arocca resigned amid reports of a fallout with chairman James Brayshaw.

These events would have tested the mettle of any club skipper let alone someone fresh to the role.

But Petrie told reporters on Monday that Swallow had thrived in his first season as captain.

"He's embraced the captaincy really well. He's still only about 23, 24 (Swallow turned 25 last month) but he could be the captain yet for the next 10 years at the footy club.

"He's had a great impact straight away. He's taken the responsibility in both hands. He hasn't shied away from it. He hasn't gone into his shell at all.

"I think when young players get the job as captain their form can often drop away. But his hasn't at all - he's just excelled."

Statistics support Petrie.

Swallow is averaging a career-high 25.6 disposals a game this season and leads the competition in tackles (110) and clearances (115, equal with Essendon's Jobe Watson).

Meanwhile, Petrie said North was playing the best football it had under Brad Scott's three-season coaching reign, but he said it was important the Roos took "the next step" and made the finals after two consecutive ninth-place finishes.

Petrie said to do that the team could not afford to look beyond this Saturday's clash with 16th-placed Melbourne.

"I think probably the side's in career-best form under Brad Scott.? The defensive guys, the midfielders and the forwards, we've all clicked at times throughout the last six weeks.

"We're a chance to make the eight but we're also a chance to fall out pretty quickly, because it's so tight from seventh through to 12th - you can't rest."

Petrie went into Sunday's game under an injury cloud after being subbed out of North's round 16 win over Carlton with adductor soreness.

Fresh from his second consecutive seven-goal haul that took him to fourth on the 2012 AFL goalkicking table (43), Petrie said he had pulled up well from the Tigers clash.

"It was probably reported in the media worse than what it was," he said of his injury.

"There was no strain in my groin or my adductor, there was just a little bit of aggravation in there but nothing that was going to get injured more by playing [against Richmond].

"I trained on Saturday and Thursday managed to do everything that I wanted to to be able to play."

Nick Bowen covers North Melbourne news for AFL.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_Nick