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By Michael Whiting

A GUARDED Jared Brennan has not revealed why he spent three weeks in the Gold Coast reserves but says he constantly feels "on notice" to retain his spot.

Brennan was dropped following the SUNS shock round seven loss to GWS, but he made a strong comeback against St Kilda on Saturday, collecting 18 disposals and kicking two goals.

Although not elaborating on his axing, Brennan said he had worked on defensive and structural parts of his game in the reserves.

The 27-year-old utility also hinted his versatility may have been a hindrance, despite being a strength of his game.

When asked why he was dropped, Brennan sheepishly looked across at his captain Gary Ablett before answering.

"I'll keep that in-house," Brennan said.

"I was still getting a kick but it was other things I had to work on, defensive parts of the game and things like that, but I won't go into detail on what they were.

"I don’t think it was attitude, I think I've had the same attitude since I got here. It was certain things, playing inside team structures, which probably mounted up from last year to this year."

Brennan was dropped ahead of the SUNS round eight trip to Darwin - his hometown - to play the Western Bulldogs, and said it was a bitter pill to swallow.

"It would have been easier to say it was a kick in the guts and poor me but I had to adjust and find out the reasons why and rectify them," he said.

Since bursting on to the AFL scene for the Brisbane Lions in 2003, Brennan has forged a career as a mercurial 'Mr Fix-it man'.

This season alone he has held down centre half-back, spent time in the ruck, played forward against the Saints and been embedded in his preferred midfield position.

Although accepting it was best for the young SUNS that he played a number of positions, Brennan said he loved the "grunt" of the inside midfielder's role.

Before his recall last week, coach Guy McKenna said he would ask Brennan's teammates - rather than reserves coach Shaun Hart - if he had won their respect back as a player.

"I think the way I've played my whole career I've always been on notice, it's the way I play," Brennan said.

"I wouldn't say a flashy way, but it's a really unorthodox way of playing. Hopefully I win more contests than I lose but I feel I've been on notice my whole career. The fact I could play any position, that saves me sometimes, but it can also hinder."

Ablett said Brennan's strength was his ability to play any position and denied the SUNS were trying to take the flair from his game.

"He wasn't dropped back because he was unpredictable, it was more a few structural things he needed to get right," Ablett said.

"Jarz does some special stuff, which is fantastic, but at times we felt he lost a bit of concentration and lost the structures.

"He has to play numerous roles for us, which is important to the side but it can be difficult for him at times when he's chopping and changing but it's the best thing for the team and Jarz knows that."

Brennan will play his 150th career game against North Melbourne at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL