North Melbourne coach Rhyce Shaw says Jack Ziebell will be primed for round one after the skipper got through his side’s final pre-season match unscathed.
The Kangaroos came from behind to beat Sydney by 11 points in Hobart on Monday afternoon in an often feisty clash.
On his return from a lingering calf injury, Ziebell picked up just seven touches in the first half before being put on ice.
But it was enough to impress Shaw, who hailed a confidence-boosting 14.6 (90) to 12.7 (79) win at Kingston Twin Ovals.
“I didn’t want to overburden him with a full game,” Shaw said.
“He looked good, he felt good. He’s done really well to get to this point and it looks like he’ll be cherry-ripe for round one.”
In his first pre-season appearance for North Melbourne, big gun Shaun Higgins had 31 touches and two goals in a leading performance.
Young forward Nick Larkey copped a flying knee to stomach but recovered to kick three majors.
Sydney were much improved from their 94-point hiding at the hands of GWS last week and were ahead by 21 points early in the third quarter.
Their already depleted forward stocks could be thinned further, with Will Hayward likely to earn scrutiny from the match review panel for a high shot on Curtis Taylor.
Midfielder Josh Kennedy was ultra impressive in the first half, notching 23 disposals, 15 contested possessions, six tackles and a goal.
He finished with a game-high 37 touches, while Tom Papley booted four goals.
“That second quarter was pretty good, but we didn’t do it for long enough,” Swans coach John Longmire said.
“We just wanted to compete for a bit harder and longer, but we’ve got to do a bit longer again.”
Several scuffles broke out early, with 14 free kicks awarded in a heated first term.
North Melbourne opened up a 30-18 quarter-time lead before the Swans pulled ahead in a five-goal-to-one second term.
Shaw believed his side could take plenty from a five-goal run in the third when they regained the ascendancy.
“To really knuckle down and play the way we wanted to play, it gives the players confidence as well,” Shaw said.
Shaw said injured key forward Ben Brown was targeting a round one return.
North Melbourne face a tough away trip to Brisbane in the opening round while the Swans host Essendon.
