By Michael Whiting

With 15 Gold Coast SUNS players scrambling for contract renewals, coach Guy McKenna says he still had plenty to learn about his list over the remaining nine matches of the season.

The GC SUNS have to cut their squad from 48 to 46 next season, but with draft and Queensland zone selections still to take place, will have to cull at least eight players.

McKenna has regularly made four or five changes to his team each week and said that was unlikely to change as he sought to evaluate the merits of his entire list.

"We've got 15 boys coming out of contract at the end of the year, so we sat down in the pre-season and said we want to give those 15 boys every chance to be on the list," he said.

"We have to make seven or eight changes because we have to reduce our list, so it's always been at the forefront of our mind."

McKenna denied there were 'free' games handed out and said each player had earned his spot through attitude and hard work.

Gold Coast SUNS have used a league-high 39 players this season, including 28 debutants.

McKenna said it had been difficult weighing up the value of giving some players a go and others a rest in a long first season against the benefit of continuity from a stable line-up.

However he thought things would work themselves out over the remainder of the season.

"Because of the situation of our group and the season it's great, we're able to test things and try things - what a great position to be in," he said.

"I think what'll happen is the players will weed themselves out. The run home is going to be tough, not saying Sydney and Richmond won't be tough, but St Kilda, Collingwood, Geelong and Brisbane, that month of footy is going to be really taxing.

"We want to play the players that want to put up their hand. The players themselves will naturally pick themselves in and out of the side."