The combined Bragons rugby league side will be out to make it back-to-back ARL Masters crowns this week when they kick of their title defence on the Gold Coast tomorrow.

Made up of former players from the Rankins Springs Dragons and the Brothers Club in Brisbane, the Bragons will come up against 60 other teams that want to take home the title.

With at least five games to be played during the carnival, Stewart Vearing did admit the standard of play decreased due to on-field injuries and after morning injuries caused by nocturnal activities.

"The first couple of games are pretty hard, because you have two on Thursday and Friday and one on Saturday, but those first couple of games are very hard because you're all kind of half fit, next next day it's a bit ordinary and the final day it's like touch footy," Vearing said.

"The blokes in our side range in age from about 38 to the oldest bloke would be one of the guys from Brisbane and he'd be in his mid-50s.

"But the older you get they put different colour shorts on you, so if you're in between 35 and 45 they're open slather, you can do anything you want to them, but as they get older they'll have different colour shorts on and you can't really belt them."

Despite suffering a broken wrist last year, Vearing said the rest of the local contingent were looking forward to reacquainting themselves with mates made from around the country, in a tournament that has doubled in size since it first began three years ago.

"But it's like a holiday for us as well because you go up there and meet so many blokes from around Australia; they come from all over the place," he said.