Hansen, 22, was moved into attack after vice-captain Drew Petrie broke his right foot against Fremantle in round 10, and finished the season with 23 goals.
The Roos' first-round draft selection in 2006 (No.3 overall), Hansen had shared the early part of his career between both ends of the ground, but was squeezed out of the backline by Scott Thompson and Nathan Grima when injured in 2009.
However, assistant coach Brett Allison - who oversaw Hansen's emergence as a forward in 2010 - said the Roos still had to be flexible with their young squad.
"I would be happy to have him week in, week out in the forward line, but he's still probably classified as a key position player," he said.
"If he's required in the defensive area, he might head back that way. I'd like to think that Nathan Grima, Robbie Tarrant and Scott Thompson stand up and are injury-free.
"If that's the case, I can certainly expect to see Lachie playing in the forward line next season.
"He's a hard worker and his marking when he was concentrating was really a feature of his play this year."
Allison said that Hansen had grown in confidence after his performances pointed to a regular position in North's best 22.
He became a reliable target in attack, leading the side in marks and kicking four or more goals on three occasions.
"There's been a bit written about him and spoken about him in the media over the previous years as to whether he was going to make it," Allison said.
"He quite rightly has [taken] a bit of belief that he can compete at this level and can hopefully [say], 'That's my spot, that's where I want to play'."
Meanwhile, Allison believes former Eagle Ben McKinley will create healthy competition in a forward group that includes Petrie, Hansen, Lindsay Thomas, Ben Warren and Aaron Edwards.
McKinley, who has kicked 89 goals from 46 AFL games, requested a trade to his native Melbourne and North secured the 23-year-old for virtually nothing, as West Coast accepted draft selection No.86 in return.
Senior coach Brad Scott said at the time that McKinley would be considered for a midfield role, and Allison also highlighted the recruit's versatility.
"You do your research on players, and we've just seen that he played a fair bit at East Perth in the midfield," Allison said.
"Watching his games at West Coast this year, he certainly played up the ground a bit more than what I thought he did. He's comfortable around the stoppages and he could win his ball in that area of the ground.
"It's useful to be able to do that; not just be camped inside 50. It can become a bit of a graveyard at times on a half-forward flank or the forward pocket."
