NORTH Melbourne ruckman Hamish McIntosh says there is no reason why Brent Harvey cannot continue to captain the Kangaroos.

Harvey has held the position since 2009 but the club is yet to confirm if he will lead the side for a fourth consecutive year.

Coach Brad Scott said earlier in the week that the club had up to five potential candidates, but McIntosh said Harvey had shown no reason why he couldn't continue.

"I think Brent's done a fantastic job so far," McIntosh said at North Melbourne's Australia Day barbeque.

"He has really grown and developed into the role really well. If he was to be our captain this year I would be very happy and support him as we have for the past few years

"If the club thought it was in their best interests for Jack (Ziebell), Andrew (Swallow), Drewy (Petrie) or a number of other candidates to take the job then we'd fully support them as well. There are so many guys who could do the job."

Ziebell would be a long-term appointment as he is yet to turn 21 and has only been in the AFL system for three years.

But McIntosh said there was no reason why the midfielder couldn't hold the title and be the youngest captain in the AFL.

"Jack is a great leader for only 20 years of age. He's got a level head on his shoulders and he's a great kid, so if he was to step up the leadership group or be our captain I'm sure he'd do a fantastic job," he said.

"So far we haven't talked about it too much, it's just been the outside speculation so far."

McIntosh's own goals don't include the captaincy but rather holding down a regular spot in the team.

A persistent Achilles injury and the rapid improvement of fellow ruckman Todd Goldstein meant McIntosh played just one senior match last year - the round 24 win over Richmond.

Speculation surfaced that McIntosh could be on the trade block but he stuck with the Kangaroos despite admitting to some moments of doubt.

"During the year, being injured you think some things and you have down time to think about what's going on in your life. It's never really crossed my mind too much," he said.

"I love North and they've been fantastic to me. I want to repay them now by getting back on the park and getting back to my best form."

The Kangaroos finished ninth last year and McIntosh admitted that anything less than a finals finish in 2012 would be a disappointment. And a finals berth may rest largely on the success of a Goldstein-McIntosh ruck combination.

"Geelong had (Trent) West and (Brad) Ottens and West Coast had (Dean) Cox and (Nic) Naitanui. I think it has shown it can work but you've got to be able to play a couple of positions; you have to play forward and ruck, you can't just be a ruckman these days," McIntosh said.

"I've been training in both areas and it's going OK so far. The main thing is to show a bit of form in both those spots and if I can do that I'm sure Todd and I can have a pretty successful partnership this year."

Luke Holmesby is a reporter for afl.com.au. Follow him on twitter - @AFL_LHolmesby