AFTER reviving his career at Hawthorn at the end of last season, Brendan Whitecross has been rewarded with a contract extension until the end of 2018.

Whitecross was set to become a free agent for the third consecutive year in 2017 after triggering a one-year contract extension late last season.

But AFL.com.au understands the Hawks extended the utility's tenure at Waverley for an additional year shortly before Christmas, removing him from this year's free agency market.

Whitecross entered last season on a one-year contract, having briefly explored interest from Greater Western Sydney and the Brisbane Lions in the 2015 free agency period.

The Queenslander's future with the Hawks looked bleak for much of last year, when he spent an extended stint in the VFL despite solid form.

Finally, after 13 games with Box Hill, Whitecross earned a recall in round 17 against the Sydney Swans and did not look back.

Fitting seamlessly back into the Hawks' best 22, Whitecross did not miss a game for the rest of the year, spending some time in a new role across half-back.

One of his most impressive performances came in Hawthorn's two-point qualifying final loss to Geelong, when he had 22 possessions and eight marks to be one of the Hawks' best players.

It was Whitecross' eighth game for 2016 and triggered a contract extension for 2017.

Recruited from Zillmere in Queensland with pick No.29 in the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, Whitecross was a regular senior player from 2010-12 before rupturing his right anterior cruciate ligament in the Hawks' 2012 qualifying final win over Collingwood.

He ruptured the same ACL a year later when he lunged to lay a tackle late in the pulsating preliminary final victory against Geelong.

As the Hawks pushed for back-to-back premierships in 2014, he was stuck on the sidelines as his recovery took longer than expected, while he managed only four senior games in 2015, again watching on as Hawthorn added a third consecutive flag.

The highly respected clubman has played 97 senior games but has missed all four premierships the Hawks have won in his time at the club.