Hawthorn has shown faith in injured Hawk Kaiden Brand, signing the young defender to a one-year deal.

Brand, who dislocated his shoulder in the NAB Challenge opener against Collingwood, admitted he has gained confidence throughout his recovery due to the new contract offer. 

“It’s a lot less stressful knowing that I’ll be at the Hawks next year,” Brand said.

“I had confidence that I had done enough in the pre-season to warrant some extra time and I was happy to hear that the club still wanted me.”  

With the uncertainty of his future having now dissipated, Brand can focus on his recovery and is looking forward to getting back to full fitness, which is estimated to be around July of this year.

Brand, a product of country South Australia, played as a forward in his junior years. He is now honing his skills to play a key defensive role at the Hawks and is being mentored by some of their best defenders.

“I only ever chipped in with defence when the team needed it,” Brand said on his junior years.

“Now I am just trying to learn as much as I can while they [Brian Lake and Josh Gibson] are here to teach me.

“After a few years of learning the role of a defender, I wouldn’t want to play anywhere else.

The role change has been no easy task for the South Australian but he is no stranger to change.

After moving from the country to Adelaide for a few years, and then onto Victoria, Brand is used to adapting.

“Being drafted to Melbourne was a tough adjustment at the beginning when most of my family still lived in South Australia and Melbourne was a lot bigger,” he said.

“After a year I kind of got used to the change and I try to get back [to South Australia] as often as I can.

In 2014, Brand performed well at Box Hill at full-back, playing every game for the year.