MELBOURNE defender and unrestricted free agent Neville Jetta has rejected increasing interest from rival clubs and re-signed with the Demons for the next two seasons.



Jetta, who was due to fall out of contract at the end of this season, has committed to Melbourne until the end of the 2018 season.



The 26-year-old is one of Melbourne's most improved players, bouncing back strongly after being delisted, then re-drafted as a rookie, at the end of 2013.



Coach Paul Roos said the way Jetta had responded to that roadblock had revealed his true character.



"Nev's been outstanding in my short time here and probably just hung on to stay on the list," Roos said.



"Every challenge he's thrown at him, he's accepted and he's become a really key part of the team."



As reported by AFL.com.au, in May, rival clubs were starting to circle the in-form defender after a series of significant defensive shutdown jobs on some of the competition's most dangerous small forwards.



Jetta has become one of the Demons' most reliable defenders over the past few years and is averaging a career-high 14.3 disposals per game in 2016.



He said he felt like he was playing the best football of his career.



"I'm definitely excited about the future and I'm glad that the club has stuck by me, especially when the times were a bit tough a few years ago," Jetta told the club's website.



"I feel like I've put a consistent block of footy together over the last few years and I'm definitely playing the best footy I’ve played at this footy club.



"I'm looking forward to the future, especially with the list we've got at the moment and with Simon Goodwin coming on board as well - I just can’t wait to get going."



Roos said the small defender had shown great improvement in adding a more attacking element to his game.



"We believe in the two years that he was a really good defender, but part of our mandate over the last 12 months has been trying to get all our players more aggressively offensively," Roos said.



"It's something we've worked really hard with him on. When he's playing now, he's one of our best defenders but also one of our best offensive players, because, ball in hand, he's got a great step and he's hard to stop."



Jetta has now played 85 matches since making his debut round one, 2009.



