NORTH Melbourne captain Brent Harvey has warned the AFL against expanding the season beyond 22 rounds when Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney join the competition over the next two years. 

The AFL is expected to announce its fixture for next season by late October, with each club playing 22 games and having two byes to accommodate the introduction of Gold Coast. 

However, the League is floating fixture models that include 23- and 24-round seasons in preparation for Greater Western Sydney’s introduction in 2012.

Harvey said 22 rounds of football was a comfortable amount and expanding the season in 2012 would put too much pressure on players.

“I reckon we’re nearly right now - 22 is good,” Harvey told Leigh Matthews on BigPond Sports Weekend on Sunday.  

“Twenty-two rounds plus finals (and) you’ve always got to have a few build-up games, whether it’s a practice game against another club or you play intra-club games.

“(So) if you play finals football, the team that makes the grand final, they end up playing 32 games of football. That’s a fair bit.”

Harvey, who is enjoying some fine form in his 15th AFL season, said the demands of an AFL pre-season were underrated and players would benefit from more breaks during the season.

The 32-year-old said having two breaks through the regular season when the competition expands to 18 teams could pave the way for State of Origin football to return.

“I would love two breaks,” he said. “I would love to play six or seven games, break, six or seven games, break, and then finish off the season.

“I reckon if you do that it could be a chance of bringing State of Origin back.”