They just find other old blokes to play against.

His hair might be grey and the aches might take longer to leave his body but the competitive spirit still burns within Peter Brosnan. The 53-year-old has made the Queensland Masters over-50 side and has represented his state at the AFL Masters National Carnival in Darwin. Brosnan, who moved to Cairns from Melbourne in 1991, said players did not take it easy on each other despite their vintage.

"It’s competitive and sometimes it does get a bit willing, but mostly it’s played in the spirit. Make no mistakes though – it’s no-holds-barred once you get on the field."

Brosnan has represented Queensland for the past five years and in 2007 he cracked the All Australian team for the first time. The half-forward said it was not something he thought he would achieve when he went to his first masters training session in 2004.

"It’s certainly quite an honour (to make All Australian) even if it is just us old fellas. It’s quite a feather in your cap.I just got roped into coming down one afternoon for a kick and got hooked and have been coming down ever since. It’s something I love doing. I look forward to going to training every week. There’s the fitness aspect of it and the mixing it with the other fellas. It’s quite social amongst the boys."

Brosnan was not the only Cairns footballer representing Queensland in Darwin. Rick Knowles (40-44yrs), Dale Treanor, Gary Hill (45-49yrs) and Gordon Hill (50 and over) also headed to the week-long carnival.