North Melbourne utility Ben Jacobs says he can see himself taking on a bigger midfield presence after performing his first lock-down tagging role last Saturday night.

The 23-year-old was given the task of shutting down Sydney Swans midfielder Daniel Hannebery for three quarters, before switching to his customary half-back position in the last term.

Coming off the back of his 42-possession game against Gold Coast in round 10, Hannebery was restricted to just 16 disposals (six kicks, 10 handballs) to three-quarter time and finished with 22 touches.

Jacobs said he “really enjoyed” performing the traditional midfield tagging role on one of the Swans’ elite onballers.

“I got told during the week by ‘Crock’ [interim coach Darren Crocker] that I was going to take Hannebery for the game and go with him everywhere,” Jacobs told NMFC.com.au on Tuesday.

“It was good that the coaches had the faith in me and trusted me with that kind of role.

“What helped me out a lot on the night was the support I had from my teammates, and when I couldn’t get to him, guys covering off for me.”

Jacobs has had plenty of experience playing in the midfield during his stints with VFL affiliate North Ballarat, but last weekend was the first time he had been assigned a tagging job at the elite level.

“I’ve played in the midfield in the VFL but when I’ve come into the seniors, it’s been in a half-back role, so to play inside and tag was a new thing for me,” he said.

The 56-gamer said he felt comfortable in his midfield position and hadn’t ruled out featuring through the middle on more occasions to complement his defensive game.

“I can definitely improve in that area so it’s somewhere I’d love to play more time in,” he said.

“I’m glad I’ve had a taste of pretty much everywhere on the ground at AFL level now, so hopefully the coaches can put me anywhere and feel confident in that.”

But the 185cm utility said his individual performance hadn’t counted for much given the Roos’ 16-point loss to the Swans at the end of the night.

“Even if I did a good job or a poor job on Hannebery, when you don’t get away with the win, it feels like it was for nothing,” he said.

“I’d love to get on a winning streak now … and once that happens and I’m a part of it, then I’ll feel like my football is going well.”

Jacobs acknowledged the uncertainty of not knowing where he would play on any given week, but said it would serve as a good learning experience.

“My role at the moment has changed from week to week; I’m not getting my head stuck into playing one role,” he said.

“It’s a challenge but it’s something you need to learn because it’s modern day football.

“Being able to play multiple positions could be a strength of mine, so I’ve got to make it a strength and not a negative on my game.”

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