He's so tiny that he's set to become the smallest AFL player to reach 300 games, but North Melbourne's Brent Harvey has never been small on heart.

Or confidence. Or loyalty.

The 172cm midfielder will play his 300th game as he leads the ninth-placed Kangaroos into battle against bottom side West Coast at Subiaco on Sunday.

Harvey, who will play on next year, is set to join Glenn Archer (311), Wayne Schimmelbusch (306) and Adam Simpson (306) as 300-game players for the Kangaroos.

North coach Brad Scott has already granted his skipper a one-year contract for 2011 and hopes the 32-year-old can continue for several seasons.

"I remember when he entered the AFL scene as an undersized, underweight kid, he still had supreme confidence in his ability, as he should," Scott told AAP.

"I don't think there are any champions at his level who don't have supreme self-confidence.

"It's just that 'Boomer' is very team-oriented and very humble and lets other people talk about his attributes.

"It was terrific that he came and asked if I thought he was playing good enough football to play on next year.

"It seems like a pretty stupid question to most but he's very realistic about where he sees his career.

"He has signed one-year contracts for the last four or five years.

"It's a great attitude for a player into his early 30s to approach his footy, as if every year could be his last."

Harvey is excited about having a group of about 40 family and friends attend Sunday's Subiaco clash, but his main focus is on North's faint finals hopes which come down to winning against West Coast and Melbourne and hoping Hawthorn lose their last two games.

"We're still in the finals race so that probably means more to me than my milestone," Harvey told reporters at Arden Street.

Harvey said he had great admiration for St Kilda dual Brownlow Medallist Robert Harvey and his instinctive baulking skills.

He said playing alongside Wayne Carey in the 1999 premiership side was a major career highlight, and listed Geelong's Cameron Ling as one of his most difficult opponents.

The four-time Kangaroos club champion says he has received a few offers from rival clubs over the years but none was seriously considered.

At one stage an offer from Carlton had dragged on for several days.

"I was driving in my car and I rang my manager and I said: 'Don't even worry about it. I don't want to know what sort of money it was, how long it is, because I couldn't see myself leaving North Melbourne footy club'," Harvey said.

Harvey, who has played 17 finals, says the September action is what motivates him and he sees a bright future for North's young guns.

"This is probably the most excited I've ever been, the new facility, a fantastic new coach, a great coaching staff and a bunch of youngsters who want to learn," he said.

"I really believe in the next couple of years we can achieve something pretty special, so I've just got to last that time."

The 2007 Brownlow Medal runner-up is a keen practical joker around the club but still gets plenty of stick in return.

"I probably only find it condescending when Matty Campbell gives me the most crap I've ever had about being small," Harvey grinned.

"He said to me the other day 'do you realise you're going to be the smallest player ever to play 300 games?'"

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