There’s no hiding the impact Ben Jacobs has had on North in the early part of 2018, and no one is more pleased with his output than coach Brad Scott.

Scott, who was a defensively minded player during his playing days, respects the role Jacobs is playing for his side, and believes he is a vital part of North’s midfield.

“We missed him last year,” Scott told Fox Footy’s On The Couch.

“He’s a unique player.

“He’s a first-round draft pick, he’s not just a guy that goes to try and blanket the opposition.

“He was a very high possession winner as a junior, and he can do that at AFL level as well.”

Scott spent much of his playing career under the tutelage of Leigh Matthews, a coach who put a large emphasis on players playing a role for the team.

The message, which won Brisbane a trifecta of premierships in 2001, 2002 and 2003, is still echoed by Scott over a decade later.

“I talk to [Jacobs] about [tagging] all the time,” Scott said.

“Leigh Matthews used to say that role players, more than anything, have to accept the role that they’re playing.

“It’s about valuing the role and how much we as a team value the role.”

Jacobs has played roles on some of the game’s most impactful midfielders such as Seb Ross, Patrick Cripps, Clayton Oliver and Tom Mitchell in the early parts of 2018 alone.

Although he has played a run-with role in each of the five matches this season, Scott believes there will be games when the 26-year-old won’t need to be as accountable for a particular player as he’s been recently.

“A lot of taggers do it for a while and then they think ‘alright I’m done, now I want to be a ball winner’,” he added.

“There will be times where we think our midfield balance is better off letting him play as a genuine ball winner, but most teams have got pretty good mids.”