MORE than 70 Australian Rules Football masters players from as far south as Melbourne and as far north as Cairns converged on Whitsunday Sports Park yesterday for this year's Tropical Masters Cup.

Rregistered players were drafted into 14-man teams sponsored by five local businesses to play a carnival of nine-a-side matches.

The annual event had a few changes this year; for the first time inviting five female players into the ranks and also condensing the carnival into one day of games.

Friday night kicked off the event with the traditional fundraiser "Walk-A-Mile” which raised $1000 for mental health to be donated to the Whitsunday Suicide Prevention Network.

"Walk-A-Mile” encourages participants to swap shoes with a mate and walk 1500m in their shoes to raise awareness and reflect on mental health.

The weather held out until the last match of the day as the Tropical Design Desperados defeated the Jubilee Tavern Juveniles in a close game with only a few goals seperating the final scores.

Organiser and Whitsunday Bald Eagles president Darren Lloyd said the event was a great success and thanked all those who had volunteered their time to make the day happen.

"It's footy for fun and you could tell by the smiles afterwards and beers all round that everyone enjoyed themselves,” he said.

The day had only one casualty when a player came under friendly fire and bumped into his own team mate.

He was transported off the field by paramedics with the diagnosis a badly bruised collarbone.

Mr Lloyd said he looked forward to another great event next year by which time the new club house is hoped to have been completed.

For more social photos and action shots make sure you pick up the Whitsunday Times this week.