LUKE Hodge and Isaac Smith should be fit for Hawthorn’s next NAB Challenge game despite finishing Sunday’s loss to North Melbourne on the bench.

Smith limped off in the third quarter with a lower leg injury and Hodge was hurt in a heavy tackle by Leigh Adams near three-quarter time.

Neither player returned to the field, but stand-in Hawthorn coach Cameron Bruce said both players should be available for the Hawks' next game against St Kilda on March 19.

Bruce said Smith had suffered a corked calf and Hodge "a bit of a sore bum".

Bruce praised the performance of key defender James Frawley, who bounced back from a poor debut for the Hawks against Collingwood in round one of the NAB Challenge to be a solid performer against North.

The former Demon kept Waite fairly quiet in the first half before rotating through a variety of opponents in the second half.

In a sign he had shed the nerves that dogged him against the Magpies, Frawley set up the Hawks' first goal when he ran down the ground and hit Jack Gunston on the lead.

"He's just going to continue to get better, he's going to get more comfortable," Bruce said.

"He had a much more experienced backline to deal with, which will definitely help him.

"He didn't have the nerves that he had in the first game so I'm really confident and we as a coaching group are really confident that he'll be able to contribute this year for us."

Bruce said the Hawks' upcoming game against St Kilda could mark the return of Brendan Whitecross from his second knee reconstruction.

Whitecross has not played since the Hawks' 2013 preliminary final win over Geelong, when he was only 12 games into a comeback from his first ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

Bruce said Whitecross' possible return would be welcomed on a number of fronts.

"The supporters enjoy Brendan being out there, the players certainly do, he offers a lot of versatility to our line-up and it's important that you get those players back," Bruce said.

"He's experienced, he knows the set-ups, he'll be hungry, there's no doubt about that.

"I think we've seen that with a guy like Jed Anderson, guys that miss a lot of footy come in and provide real energy and enthusiasm, so it will be a big plus to get him out there."