A titanic struggle is expected between top team West Whyalla and fourth placed North Whyalla in their all-important round 16 clash at Memorial Oval on Sunday.

Westies have gone off the boil in the past five weeks, losing three games and will want to prove to supporters that the display of good form early in the season is not behind them.

On the other hand, North has been quite consistent - apart from that little hiccup against the Bays two weeks ago - and easily defeating Central last week.

Westies will want to win this game to stay on top of the ladder as the Roos breathe down their necks, while North will want to win for the confidence boost, coming into the finals in two weeks time.

Once again, much will depend on the clash between Dragons' full back Aaron Smith and North's full forward Nick Prokopec, with Smith having the better of him last time.

The Dragons double teamed him last game, and I am sure that North coach David Freeman will not let that happen this game as he has other options up his sleeve.

Both teams are fairly evenly matched with good players all over the ground.

As always with the games between these clubs, the result will depend on who gets the early breaks.

With both teams wanting a win as finals are just around the corner it will be a real arm wrestle, with little in class and skill separating the two teams.

While North appears to be in slightly better form at the moment, I am going the other way and selecting West to win, but only by the barest of margins.

Five to 10 points in what should be a great game.