LACONIC to the point of almost looking lazy, Jared Brennan (pictured) is one of the more entertaining players to watch in the AFL.
He showcased that in Cairns last year, starring with three goals as the Gold Coast Suns upset Richmond at Cazalys.
The athletic Darwin product has his own way of getting around an Aussie rules paddock, and Cairns was given full privilege to that 12 months ago.
But for all his promise, Brennan is yet to really deliver.
Along with Gary Ablett, Jarrod Harbrow and Nathan Bock, Brennan was pinched by the Suns with high expectations. It meant the free-wheeling role he had at the Brisbane Lions would need tweaking.
That is something he admits he has struggled with, and those struggles were exacerbated when he was cut from the senior side by coach Guy McKenna earlier this season.
"Yeah it’s difficult at times. I don’t really think I had a point to prove, there was just a few things I needed to work on," he said.
He has since done enough to convince McKenna he was ready for a recall and showed against Geelong last weekend that he was willing to take ownership of this developing side. Playing forward he provided a great target and real confidence as the Suns came close to knocking off the defending premiers.
While he said his preferred place was in the engine room, Brennan was happy to be back and firing.
"I think it helps too, having a great captain (Gary Ablett) and guys like Nathan Bock – although he’s injured I still bounce a lot off him," Brennan said.
"Most of our guys are eager to learn, as well."
One lesson he hoped they retained today was the need to attack with pace. It was their speed and direction that threw Geelong out last week, and only when they fell away from that did the Cats respond.
"As soon as we go slow we’re no good," Brennan said. "We have a lot of young kids with a lot of pace. As soon as we get stagnated and don’t use that, we play badly."
But at least they now had the right approach, Brennan said.
‘‘It was the skill errors that let us down – missing marks or handballs. But that’s fixable, so that’s great," he said.
The laid-back Brennan relishes the chance to play away from the big cities, comparing Cairns to his much-loved home town.
"I know a lot of guys from Darwin that come here and play and I love coming up here," he said.
"That win last year seems so long ago. But it was a good win, we came home strong.
"Richmond are going a little bit better than this time last year. But, hopefully, we can snag another win."
Last Modified on 25/09/2012 10:27