Essendon’s 2011 fixture will include two byes to enable a 22-game season to be completed across 24 weekends of football.

The AFL yesterday announced that next year’s fixture will consist of 19 rounds of eight games and five rounds of seven games to accommodate the introduction of the Gold Coast Suns.

“The fixture we will use provides the best spread of byes across the competition for the season,” the AFL’s chief operating officer Gillon McLachlan told the AFL's website.

“This mix will enable the byes for all teams to be spaced as best we can through the season.

“For our broadcast coverage, the majority of the season will look exactly as this year does.

“In the rounds where there will be only seven matches played, we will work with our broadcast partners so that one fixture slot is removed from these rounds.”

The completed 2011 fixture will be released in late October.

2011 FIXTURE SUMMARY

The introduction of the Gold Coast Suns provides 11 extra games across the season - 187 games in total (was 176 games), plus finals.

19 rounds x eight matches (one bye) - Starting times and television slots same as in 2010.

Five rounds x seven matches (three byes) - one slot to be dropped in each round, with the AFL and television networks to decide which one.