Jared Brennan Biography

Jared Brennan announces retirement after 173 AFL games over 11 seasons for the Brisbane Lions (119) and the Suns (54).

"Jared and his manager Tom Petroro notified the club of their decision this week, informing us that Jared had lost his passion and hunger for the game," Gold Coast general manager of football operations Marcus Ashcroft said.

"While it is always sad to see one of your experienced players retire, we understand Jared's decision and will assist Jared with his transition into the next phase of his life."

Jared Brennan says playing social basketball in Brisbane during the off-season, without the knowledge of the club, has reignited his passion for sport and football.

"It was just a thing that progressed, to go back and do something for the love of it," he said.

"There's more to life than just playing football. Playing b-ball socially, with some mates at a rec centre on a Wednesday night, just created a massive love for sports again, which I didn't have for a few years. It was kind of refreshing."

A refreshed Jared Brennan has been a standout over the Suns' pre-season, but admits he almost gave up after a disappointing 2012.

"If I did give it away, I'd probably regret it for the rest of my life," he said.

"I've still got a few good years left in me and if I gave up now it was probably the easy way out. I don't want to be known to take the easy way out.

"That's the thing that's driven me this pre-season, to give everything I've got in every aspect - training, off-field, on-field - and we'll see where that takes us."

Jared Brennan has taken the first steps in breathing life into his stalled AFL career by shining during Gold Coast's Arizona training camp.

"It's pleasing. It's not surprising Jared can perform to that level, we've seen it before, it's just pleasing he's come back with a fantastic attitude," Gold Coast football manager Marcus Ashcroft said.

"For him to perform the way he did - and for his peers to acknowledge him - shows he's ready to have a bigger pre-season and hopefully a big season when it starts."

Luke Darcy says Gold Coast should consider getting rid of Jared Brennan, describing him as 'a gimmick'.

"He hasn't fired. He hasn't shown any leadership. He looks uninterested. He's a gimmick," Darcy said.

"You look at him at times and think, 'what are you doing?'"

Jared Brennan is dropped for the second time this season but Suns coach Guy McKenna says the utility will not be offered for trade in the off-season.

"He finished sixth in our best and fairest [last year] so we know he's a quality player. Under duress last season he performed really well," McKenna said.

"We hold hope he can show us and he'll determine that, whether he gets back in the side and remains at the footy club because of his passion, his intensity and his ability to play football."

Jared Brennan has declined to go into specifics about his axing from the Suns but believes his versatility is a hindrance.

"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," Brennan said.

"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."

Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna says Jared Brennan is unlikely to win a recall to the senior side after failing to impress in the reserves.

"When he was dropped and went back to the seconds, I wouldn't say he set the world alight," McKenna said.

"The side did what it did last week, certainly showed some effort … I don't think anyone has put their hand up to be out of the side, so we'd like to get some chemistry and cohesion in the group, so unless we have to make a change through injury, we'll probably just sit on our hands."

For the first time in many years, Jared Brennan has completed every running session since pre-season training started.

"It's the first pre-season I've started where I've been able to run from day one. A few ankle surgeries have held me back, but with the shoulder surgery you can still run. I'm a few kilos lighter than this time last year but that'll come back," he said.

Jared Brennan says work-rate is the key to putting himself into games when he is not playing particularly well.

You want your bad games to be at a level you're comfortable with," he said.

"In my first three or four years, when I had a bad game, I had almost no contribution, whereas now, if I have a bad one, I like to think I still contribute in some way."

Gold Coast half-back Jared Brennan refused to continue the war of words started by his former Lions teammates after the Suns' eight-point win.

"It certainly didn't spur me on, what did was the chance to get a win, I thought we were a really good chance to win," he said.

"They (Lions players) gave me a little bit of bit of niggle [during the match] but that is footy, I get that most weeks."

Gold Coast official and former Lion Marcus Ashcroft has hit back at criticism of Suns utility Jared Brennan who was called a "mercenary" by former teammate Simon Black.

"We'd like to think we're a destination of choice and Jared, for whatever reason, wanted to come down to the Gold Coast and to his credit has played some really good footy," ," Ashcroft said.

"He's been one of our best players for the first six weeks of the season, so he's really made a statement."

Jared Brennan isn't too worried about coming up against his former team when the Gold Coast take on Brisbane on Saturday night.

"I've got some really good mates there and speak to them regularly but they're competitors and I'm a competitor so we know we'll shake hands before the game and after the game but during the game they'll go for the hard ball and I'll go for the hard ball," Brennan said.

"They'll probably try (to get under his skin), but that's football. Lots of teams try to get under my skin but hopefully that's water off a duck's back and we'll see how we go."

Former Brisbane Lion Jared Brennan is happy to play anywhere coach Guy McKenna asks but he has no desire to to return to the ruck.

"I've spoken to Bluey about not playing in the ruck anymore and he's pretty keen on that. I'm too small and light for the ruck; hopefully I never have to do that again," Brennan said.

"If I kept playing in the ruck, it would have cut my career short by a couple of years."

Gold Coast recruit Jared Brennan blames the Gabba's surface for a serious ankle injury sustained while he was playing and training with Brisbane.

"It was the cricket pitch (that caused my injury) at the Gabba and it's definitely good to get away from it," Brennan said.

"The cricket pitch was pretty much the reason why I busted my ankle in the first place."

The Brisbane Lions have traded their compensation for Jared Brennan back to Gold Coast, to secure the No. 5 pick in this year's draft.

"Being able to secure pick No.5 proved a significant upgrade for us. There will be some elite talent among the early selections this year and we were determined to push up into the early bracket to be certain of drafting one of those players," Lions national talent manager Rob Kerr said.

"It really places this club in a strong position for what will be a compromised draft. We are now looking at having four selections in the top 30 or so, which gives us the option to possibly retain the compensation pick we received for Michael Rischitelli to use in the future."

Magpie Josh Fraser and Lion Jared Brennan will become Gold Coast's seventh and eighth experienced recruits on Thursday.

"We've always rolled out we'll probably take eight uncontracted players and that will be it, I'd say," Suns recruiter Scott Clayton said.

"We have tried to get a good mix of position and age and all those things, and we've ended up where we are today."

Jared Brennan's manager Tom Petroro confirms his client's decision to leave the Brisbane Lions.

Negotiations are understood to have started with Carlton while the Gold Coast Suns lurk.

"Jared gave considerable thought to a very difficult decision. In the end, it was his call to leave," Petroro said.

Jared Brennan faces a two-match ban, one with an early guilty plea, for bumping Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer.

Despite the charge, Lions assistant coach Adrian Fletcher says Brennan has matured this year and has become a leader at the club.

"He's a mature man, he's a leader of the footy club, he understands that you have to play inside the rules and the boundaries," Fletcher said.

Jared Brennan wants to nail down a midfield spot as he aims to become a leader of the Lions in 2010.

"I think it frees you up a little bit and you're in the action a bit more. When you're in the forward line you're floating in and out, (but) when you're in the midfield you're around the ball, so hopefully Vossy can keep me there,'' he said.

Brisbane Lion Jared Brennan says he has learnt from his one-match suspension after headbutting Port Adelaide's Josh Carr.

"There was definitely a bit of soul searching," Brennan said.

"It was very out of character, it was the first time that it has ever happened to me so it was a really awkward situation.

"I like to think I am a better player for it."

Brisbane Lions utility Jared Brennan will play his first finals match on Saturday, in his 100th AFL game against the Blues.

The versatile Brennan has played in a variety of positions in 2009.

"This week depending on what lineup we go it could be full forward, could be ruck, could be back; I just don't know until the day," he said.

"It doesn't bother me. Wherever the team needs me I think is where I'll play and where I'll try and adapt to the best of the team's needs."

The Lions have received good news, with scans revealing Jared Brennan may be able to play this weekend despite spraining his ankle in Brisbane's match against Fremantle.

Brennan's teammate Daniel Bradshaw, however, will miss the next 2-3 weeks with a minor hamstring tear.

AFL operations manager Adrian Anderson says the Jared Brennan-Josh Carr head-butting case is proof that the system is working well.

Brennan was charged by the match review panel with a level four head-butting offence, which initially attracted a three week ban, but with a 25 per cent reduction for his five-year good behaviour record, and then a further 25 per cent for his early guilty plea, that came down to a week, with 82 points carried on his record (100 points equals a week).

"It's the way the system works, the fact that he's played more than five years now without ever being suspended is a big credit to him as a player," Anderson said.

"He gets a significant benefit for having managed to go five years without being suspended.

"On that basis, he gets the extra benefit of what would otherwise be a two-week suspension becoming a one-week suspension.

"It's all very well for people to say 'oh, one week's not enough', but I think players who manage to get through five years of regularly playing at the top level, and not have any blot against their name, are worthy of some credit for that."

The match review panel offers Melbourne Colin Sylvia four weeks for striking Scott Selwood, Jared Brennan gets offered one-week for headbutting Josh Carr and Troy Chaplin two weeks for striking Daniel Rich.

Brisbane Lion Jared Brennan can consider himself lucky to be able to escape with a one-match suspension for a charge of headbutting Port Adelaide's Josh Carr.

Port Adelaide tagger Josh Carr says he doesn't know what prompted Brisbane Lion Jared Brennan to headbutt him at AAMI Stadium on Saturday.

With Brisbane trailing by 14 points early in the final term, Brennan threw Carr to the ground off the ball and then headbutted him.

Brennan gave away a 50m penalty, which resulted in a goal, and was reported for misconduct.

"I was a little bit amazed at what happened there, considering the umpire was right there," Carr said after the win.

"But these things happen. Some people do these sorts of things. It started as a bit of a push and shove and got out of hand. He got me in the sweet spot, which caused the bleeding.

"I actually didn't do a hell of a lot and I wasn't shaken up or anything like that. I don't know what will come out of it, so we'll wait and see."

Jared Brennan added another fine performance to his 2009 resume against Melbourne with 26 disposals and 10 marks, but missed shots on goal left him disappointed after kicking just four behinds.

"In front of goals I didn't capitalise on the chances I had which kind of makes it a little bit disappointing," Brennan said.

"I kicked 0.4, that's just not good enough, especially if you're playing quality opposition like Geelong or St Kilda. You just can't waste those opportunities. The team's probably rapt with the way they went, but myself personally, I'm kicking myself I didn't convert and take my chances."

Brisbane Lions captain Jonathan Brown says utility Jared Brennan is knocking on the door of the game's upper echelon.

"The second half of last year he was nearly our best and I think he has developed into a really good player in the AFL," Brown said.

"The reason we can say that now is because he has become very consistent and he is certainly our most versatile player. He can play anywhere on the ground.

"Week-in, week-out, he is producing, especially in crunch games. He stands up in the big games, which says a lot about him.

"He had been under a lot of pressure early in his career because he was a highly touted first-round draft pick and has started to hit his straps.

"He has been fantastic for us and hopefully we can keep him fit and firing, because we need him."

Brisbane Lions' Mr Fix-It Jared Brennan is ready to take on St Kilda giants Steven King and Michael Gardiner.

"I don't think I'll be playing much at the defensive end because of our lack of ruckmen," he said.

"If I get given the task to go back I'll relish it but it's definitely not the first option. But if (Nick) Riewoldt and (Justin) Koschitzke start kicking a bag of goals I'll probably head back then.

"Our structures have worked well the last few weeks, so we don't really want to mess with those. I wouldn't think we'll change too much."

PLAYMAKER Jared Brennan was injured and the Lions' search for goal-kicking options thwarted in a trial loss to Melbourne in Cairns last night.