Jack Ziebell is the new captain of the North Melbourne Football Club.

Ziebell takes over from Andrew Swallow, who captained the club for the past five years before stepping down from the role at the end of the 2016 season.

The midfielder has long been considered the Roos’ next skipper, having first joined the club’s leadership group as a 21-year-old.

“It’s a huge honour to captain a club with such a proud history,” Ziebell said.

“Since my first day here, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to lead this great club.”

Robbie Tarrant has been appointed vice-captain after a career-best year in which he won the Syd Barker Medal.

Jamie Macmillan and Shaun Higgins have been named as deputy vice-captains for 2017, with Swallow also among the five-man leadership group.

“He has done an outstanding job and leaves some big shoes to fill,” Ziebell said of Swallow.

“I’ll definitely be leaning on Andrew for some guidance in the role.”