Utility Brendan Whitecross has agreed to a new one year deal with the Hawks.
The highly-respected clubman has played 88 games for Hawthorn since he was recruited from Zillmere in Queensland with pick 29 in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft.
Despite interest from rival clubs the 25-year-old elected to remain at Hawthorn and continue his bid to taste premiership success.
While Hawthorn has claimed three premierships from four AFL Grand Final appearances in his time at the club, Whitecross has been reduced to watching from the sidelines as the Hawks achieved the ultimate success.
Whitecross was a regular in the Hawks senior side before he ruptured his right anterior cruciate ligament for the first time in the 2012 qualifying final win over Collingwood.
He then suffered a second ACL tear in the 2013 preliminary final.
Whitecross provided a feel-good story of the 2015 season when he returned in Round 3 after more than 18 months on the sidelines recovering from his second knee reconstruction.
His best performance came in the Anzac Day defeat to Port Adelaide when he collected 19 touches and took eight marks.
But after playing four games in a row he was dropped and couldn't force his way back into the senior side – despite strong VFL form.
Whitecross is currently on the mend after off-season shoulder surgery but GM – Football Operations Chris Fagan said he didn’t think it would hamper his preparation too much.
“Brendan will be a bit slower getting back into full contact work with footy before Christmas, but he is in a pretty good position,” Fagan said.
“It’s a good result because he can still run and do the required conditioning stuff when he returns.”
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